


Changing of the Seasons

by Tea_n_Tomatoes



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fanfic, Fanfiction, Gen, M/M, OC, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Original Story - Freeform, Pokemon - Freeform, Pokemon Fanfiction, Pokemon OC, pokemon fanfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-04-19 01:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 52
Words: 91,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14225691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea_n_Tomatoes/pseuds/Tea_n_Tomatoes
Summary: Brooke Areca is an 18 year old girl moving to the Maroh region from Castelia City in the Unova Region with her father and older brother. But when she gets there she may see that there's more than meets the eye to this beautiful region. Follow her on her journey as she gets to the very roots of the secrets this region hides.





	1. Something New

A seaplane was descending into the port city of Playa Town in the Maroh Region. It was a city mostly populated by sailors and fishermen who worked out at sea or on the docks. Near the ocean the majority was a nice area with residential housing, then as you got more inland it became a more urban area with tall buildings and offices.

Inside the plane was an 18 year old girl with pale skin, bright blue eyes and short golden brown hair with her face pressed up against the window, having a slight pushing match with the Eevee in her lap for a view. "Brooklyn, you're eighteen, stop acting like such a little kid." A boy teased her from the seat next to her. He resembled her quite a bit and had neat golden hair, the same pale skin, and vibrant green eyes, an Espeon sitting in his lap that he named Lola. "Oh hush Theo, like you aren't excited to move into our new place?" Brooke turned to look at her older brother, giving the Eevee in her lap the opportunity to gaze out the window, his tail waving excitedly. "Sure I am, but I'm not shoving my partner out of the way to get a look out the window." She rolled her eyes at him slightly and looked back out the window as the seaplane landed on the ocean, cruising gently along until it came to it's dock.

Brooke ran onto the dock and looked around in amazement at the ports. Workmen were going between boats and shops, fishermen were unloading their hauls, and tourists were walking along the docks getting pictures of the ocean. "Brooke!" She turned when she heard her father's voice. He looked a lot like his son, but had Brooke's bronze colored hair, he had electrifying green eyes and wore a lime green jacket with black lightning bolt designs, a white quarter sleeve shirt, black pants, and a pair of black eye glasses. "Yes dad?"

"I want you and Lukas to go on ahead to the house! Theo and I need to stop by the gym." He reached out and handed his daughter the house keys, the black lightning bolt tattoo on the underside of his left arm becoming noticeable. "Thanks Dad!" She looked down at her Eevee "Ready to see the house, Lukas?" he nodded excitedly and they both ran to the sidewalk and in the direction of their new home.

Brooke's father, Trydan, was a powerful electric type gym leader back in Castelia City in the Unova region where she used to live as of today. He was transferred to a new gym here in Playa Town. Brooke would miss the Unova Region, but now she was here and could not be more excited to live in a city by the ocean in a place that was totally new to her.

They arrived at the home to see their moving truck was there already waiting for them. Brooke rushed up the steps, taking two at a time and shoved the key into the lock before thrusting the door open. It was pretty bare. Everything was finished, and the movers had put the furniture in before they arrived, but it seemed empty without all the things Brooke knew had still yet to be moved into the house. "Ee. eeve!"

"Yeah, it is kinda drab. But I'm sure it'll be better once we finish moving everything in here. In the meantime, let's go have a look at our room!" Lukas climbed onto her shoulder and together they went upstairs and entered their bedroom. It was a fair size. A queen bed was placed in the middle, a desk was on the opposite side and a dresser was placed next to a closet opposite the windows which showed off a view out to the ocean. "Well bud, this is our room." He jumped down from her shoulder and made himself comfortable on the mattress. "Hey, no sleeping! You have to help me move in." He simply twitched and ear and closed his eyes, signaling that he'd rather sleep than sympathize with her. "Fine, you can sleep, but then I get to decide where your bed goes." She strolled back out of her room when she heard the front door open and the voices of her family coming from downstairs. As she headed down she smirked as she realized that Lukas was walking beside her, not making eye contact and looking somewhat grumpy that he'd lost that battle.

"What do you think of the place?" Her father asked, his booming voice echoing around the empty house. "I love it! It doesn't quite feel like home yet, but I'm sure that'll change once we move in everything else." Brooke replied, grabbing a box labeled "Silverware" from Theo and setting it down on the kitchen counter.

They worked that whole afternoon to move everything into the house, although most everything stayed in their boxes, it was still a long process. That night Brooke didn't want to sleep, she wanted to explore the new city and could hardly wait for the next day to come, but her fatigue took over and she felt herself dozing off.

The next day she woke up and headed downstairs after getting dressed for the day. Her father and brother were already eating breakfast with their partners when she came down. "Morning sleeping beauty. It's almost ten o'clock." Her brother teased her "Hey, not everyone is a morning person like you two crazies." She retorted as she made herself breakfast and poured a dish of pokemon food for Lukas. "Are you excited for today, Brooke?" She smiled widely "How could I not be!" 

"Oh yeah, I forgot, your boyfriend is coming over." Theo smirked slightly and Brooke rolled her eyes at him. "Jordan is not my boyfriend, Theo!" He waved her off with a brush of his hand and his Espeon mimicked his actions with her tail "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."

"You know, for a twenty year old, you really don't act like it." She teased back and their father chuckled "Okay, okay, that's enough you two. Why don't you both help your old man unpack the boxes."

4 pm finally rolled around and Brooke nearly jumped out of her skin from excitement when the doorbell rang. When she finally got downstairs from her room-after nearly falling twice-she saw a tall woman with long black hair and bright green eyes standing in the mud room with a tall boy who looked about 18 or 19 with messy black hair, tan skin, with glistening amber eyes, and seemed to share his mom's Asiatic features. He wore a red windbreaker with black and white designs on the sides and arms, along with a pair of blue jeans and black converse sneakers. 

"Jordan!!" She rushed up to him and wrapped her arms around him. He stumbled back a bit, surprised, but laughed and hugged her back tightly "Brooke! It's been so long!" She stepped back from him and Lukas began playing with a Growlithe at the boy's side. "How have you been!? I haven't seen you in forever!" 

"I've been awesome! I can't wait to tell you about everything!" The parents chuckled from beside them. "Hey, you two, dinner won't be ready for some time, why don't you two hang around outside for a while?" 

"Yes, Jordan, why don't you show Brooklyn some places around town?" His mother chimed in and he nodded. "Yeah! I can introduce you to the doc!" He opened the door and led the way out.

They started walking along the street next to the wide expanse of ocean. "Who's the doc?" Brooke asked, looking up at her friend walking beside her while Lukas played with his Growlithe named Titus. "Professor Pine! Most famous researcher in the Maroh Region and specializes in pokemon behavior! He's been teaching me different strategies for battle and helping me train!" 

"Oh really? You've never told me about that!" 

"I haven't? Oh well! So, how was the trip here?" She groaned in an overblown way "Long and boring! It felt like to took forever to get here from Castelia City! Sleeping after that trip felt so amazing!" 

"I'll bet! I remember coming here with Titus at first so long ago!" 

"That was around five years ago now, wasn't it?" 

"Was it really...?" He thought for a moment and nodded "It was! Wow, it has not felt like it. I guess time really does go by!" He smiled his usual bright, charming smile at her and she smiled back. She had missed her best friend a lot, but never realized exactly how much until he was right in front of her, talking as if they had never been separated. 

"Here we are!" They arrived at a tall, white building covered head to toe in one-way windows. Jordan led her through the sliding doors. "Hey Doc!? Are you in here?" He called out, his words echoing in the large entrance room. A man with pale skin, dark graying hair and gray-blue eyes wearing a crisp white lab coat stepped out of the other room and smiled. "Ah, Mr. O'Connor! What can I do for you?" 

"I came by to introduce you to my best friend, Brooke Areca, she just moved here from Castelia City in the Unova region." 

"So this is the girl you've told me so much about." He smiled warmly at her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Brooke. My name is Professor Pine." 

"It's nice to meet you, too! This is my partner, Lukas!" He looked down at her Eevee and his eyebrows raised "An Eevee! I hear they're very rare in Unova." 

"I rescued Lukas when I was eight years old. He was living on the streets of Castelia City." 

"Her father is the new gym leader who just transferred here to Playa Town!" Jordan informed the professor. "Oh! So your Eevee must be well trained, huh?" Brooke felt her heart sink in her chest, but didn't show it on her face. "I suppose so!" 

"Anyway, you both came at a good time, I just got a package from Professor Elm in the Johto region." He led them to the next room where three pokeballs were sitting vacant on a table. He released them all to reveal each of the typical starter pokemon from that region. The grass type: Chikorita, the water type: Totodile, and the fire type: Cyndaquil. "Wow! These are some pretty rare pokemon, doc!" 

"Indeed they are. Professor Elm wants me to study their behavior for a while while they're here." While they were talking Brooklyn bent down and held out a hand to Cyndaquil, but before she could pet him Jordan interrupted her. "Oh hey, I just got a text from mom, dinner is almost ready and they want us back home." 

The teenagers made their way to the exit and waved goodbye to the professor. "Nice meeting you, Brooke!" 

"Nice to meet you too, Professor! See you soon!"


	2. Team Sapphire!

Two days later Brooklyn woke up in her bed with Lukas draped over her feet. Not caring if she woke him up she pulled her legs out from under him and went to go get dressed for the day. When she got downstairs she saw her father and brother eating their breakfast in front of the TV. "Morning, Brooke! Did you sleep well last night?" She nodded "I did! I'm headed to the pokemon lab with Jordan, so I'll be back in a bit." 

"Be safe! Say hello to the professor for me!" He called to her as she headed out the door "Will do!" She shut the door behind her with Lukas perched on her shoulder. Jordan was standing there with Titus by his feet and a Staravia on his arm. 

Brooke smiled at the flying type pokemon and it smiled back at her happily. "Who's this guy?" 

"This is Hugo! I caught him a while ago when he was just a little Starly!" 

"He's a little cutie!" They started walking to the lab. "Do you like Playa town?" She asked him and he nodded "I do! This city is so pretty! But I'm excited to see the rest of Maroh soon!" She cocked her head "What do you mean?" 

"Oh, did your dad not tell you? I'm leaving for my journey soon." 

"What!? But Jordan, I just got here!" 

"I know, I know, but Mom says that this is the best time to go." 

"When are you leaving?" 

"Week and a half." she pouted "Aww man! That's so soon!" 

They arrived at the lab to see caution tape blocking off the perimeter, saying construction was happening inside. "Did the professor tell you about this?" Jordan shook his head 'no' in reply and narrowed his eyebrows "He would've told me if something was happening in there. Even if it was short notice he knew we were coming so he would've called." 

Suddenly a large crash sounded from inside, along with some shouting, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. Brooke and Jordan exchanged a glance and both hopped the tape and rushed through the sliding doors. 

The professor was being held back by two men in odd blue suits. Their jackets were a chilling blue and matched their pants, they had designs of white snowflakes on the cuffs and a white S on their chest, along with clean white gloves and dark blue loafers. There were also some women dressed in expensive, short, light blue dresses with an open shoulder and the same exact S on the front, high light blue fashion boots, a bright blue necklace, and elbow-length light blue gloves with a snowflake pattern on the back. 

"You'll never get away with this!" The professor shouted to a woman tossing a pokeball up and down in her hands. She had pale skin, light blue shoulder length hair, gray-blue eyes, and wore a short icy blue dress with fur cuffs on the sleeves, hem, and collar along with blue fashion boots that faded to white in the middle. "Oh, but I have, professor." Her voice had an icy silkiness to it that sent chills down Brooklyn's spine. 

No one noticed that the two teenagers had barged in until Jordan shouted "Hey what are you all doing?" They all turned to them, if they tried to battle they'd be outnumbered. "Why, getting some new pokemon, what does it look like?" She replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "You give those pokemon back right now!" 

"Or what, you two puny little runts will try to battle us?" She scoffed and some of the grunts snickered maniacally "Who are you anyway?" Brooke asked them and the eyes turned to her. "Oh pardon me for not introducing ourselves, I am Rose, and we are all a part of Team Sapphire. We believe that all pokemon should belong to those who truly deserve them, the richer, higher class people who can afford to have their pokemon trained properly." She looked them both over, a twisted smirk painted on her face. "I doubt you two would understand what I'm talking about." 

"You won't get those pokemon if I have anything to say about it! Hugo! I chose you!" The flying type glided off his shoulder and glared at Rose. She simply shrugged "If you insist." She tossed out a pokeball and released a Weavile. "Weavile, use icy wind." A sharp breeze blew past Jordan and Hugo. "Use air cutter!" 

"Now use fury swipes." 

"Dodge it!" But the Staravia was too slow and was cut with a series of blows. "That Weavile is fast..." Brooke muttered to herself "Icy wind, again." Rose seemed bored with this battle, as if it was beneath her. Hugo couldn't handle it anymore and was sent flying backwards "No! Hugo!"

"Don't worry, Jordan! I've got this! Go Lukas!" The Eevee jumped off her shoulder and landed on all fours on the ground. "Weavile, use fury swipes." 

"Go at it with quick attack!" Lukas crashed into the ice type, but took a lot of damage from that fury swipes. "Lukas! Are you okay?" 

"Ee..Eevee!" 

"Good! Use tackle!" 

"Use feint attack." the two moves collided, but Lukas was sent flying back to Brooke's feet. "Lukas! No!" Rose laughed wickedly at her reaction and handed the bag of stolen pokeballs to a grunt "Well, that was fun, runt, but we should get going if we're going to deliver these pokemon to the boss on time. They all rushed out of the building, leaving the trainers and the professor behind. 

The pokemon were soon healed and Brooke was pacing impatiently "We have to go after them, Jordan!" 

"But how? We have no idea where they could've gone." 

"I know- but we can't let Team Sapphire have them! I just- ugh!" Jordan remained silent as Brooke continued pacing, thinking of ideas. Then on the floor she saw a white glove "Hey, isn't that one of the gloves the grunts were wearing?" She asked, picking up the white cotton glove in her hands, Jordan walked over to it and examined it. "We can have Titus track them down by using the scent on this glove!" 

"Great idea, Jordan!" 

"Hold on you two," the professor cut in. "I want these poor pokemon back as much as you do, but I don't know if this is the best idea." 

"Why not, doc?" 

"Well, this could be very dangerous, you two will be outnumbered. Perhaps it's best if we call Officer Jenny or Brooke's father?" 

"We can handle it, professor! Besides, we have our pokemon, and they won't be as prepared now for retaliation!" 

"All right, but if you realize you can't take them, please come back." 

Jordan reached down and held the glove out in front of his partner "Can you track them?" Titus stepped up to the glove and stiffed around it, carefully inspecting for the right scent. He nodded and barked, signaling that he picked up the scent and raced out of the labs with the trainers and Lukas close behind. 

He led them into the forest, needing a refresher on the scent every now and then. Finally he led them to a worn shack. "Is that it?" Brooke asked quietly "It can't be, at least not for the whole team."

"Well, even if it's some of them, they've got to know where the pokemon are." They stealthily walked along the side of the shack and they heard a few male voices from inside. They exchanged a nod. "Lukas! Quick attack!" He crashed into the wooden door, breaking it into pieces, thoroughly startling the members of Team Sapphire who were in there. "Where are the pokemon stolen from the lab!?" Jordan shouted, both of them glaring at the grunts. "You won't find them here, they're with Rose being treated by our scientists." 

"Treated?" Brooke echoed, confused. They put on a smug grin. "Soon they'll be fully devoted members of Team Sapphire." Brooke's heart stopped in her chest and she stared at the thieves in shock. "What are they going to do, beat them into obedience!?" Brooke thought, horrified. "You punks are gonna tell us where those pokemon are right now, or else we'll force it out of you!" 

"What are you runts gonna do? Attack us?" they laughed disbelievingly. Jordan smirked and Titus prepared a flame wheel in his mouth. "Well, if you don't tell us, Titus here will get pretty mad. So I'll ask again, where are they?" 

Brooke, Lukas, Jordan, and Titus all arrived at the big building in the forest where the pokemon were being "broken in". All four of them rushed into the building and walked right into a lab where three scientists were working. They all stopped and stared at the teenagers when they realized someone had walked in on them. "Ugh, not you two runts again." Rose stepped over and glared at the trainers. "I thought I defeated you both at the lab. No matter, I'll leave you up to my scientists." She grabbed the three pokeballs and ran off down a hall. "Oh no! She's getting away!"

"Brooke, you go after her! I'll take care of these three!" Titus stepped forward and he released Hugo to help him. Brooke ran off down the hall and it wasn't long before she caught up with Rose and they sped out some emergency exit doors. "Stop, Rose! Give back those pokemon!" The woman stopped and turned to Brooke. "You just don't know when to give up, do you?" 

"Nope! Now hand them over!" 

"If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get!" She threw out a pokemon and released a Glaceon and Lukas stepped out onto the field. "Recognize it? You might have one too if your Eevee were stronger." Rose taunted and Brooke glared at the Team Sapphire member. "Glaceon, use bite!" The ice type jumped forward and latched onto Lukas's ear. "Lukas, run to shake them off!" Lukas ran around in circles until Glaceon came flying off "Quick attack!" Lukas crashed into Glaceon before they had the chance to get up. "Glaceon, get up! icy wind!" 

"Iron tail!" Lukas' tail turned silver and he whacked Glaceon, sending them back to their trainer's feet. "What? No! This isn't possible!" She stared in amazement and returned her pokemon. The doors opened behind her and Jordan stood at Brooke's side, officially outnumbering Rose. "Fine, you win!" she threw the bag of pokeballs to their feet. "But you two won't get away next time!"


	3. New Friends

By the time the two got back to Playa Town the sun had almost set and the trainer's families were waiting for them to return inside the lab with Professor Pine. The trainers walked through the sliding doors and everyone looked over at them. "Brooke!" Her father called her name and rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her. "What were you thinking, going after them all on your own! You could've been seriously hurt! Why didn't you tell me about them? You know I could've taken care of them!" He scolded her. Brooke looked into his vibrant green eyes, she could tell he wasn't angry, but relieved. "Dad, relax! Lukas and I are fine, and we got the pokemon back, see?" She handed the professor the bag of pokeballs. "You should've still left it to the actual trainers, Brooklyn." A voice said from behind her and Brooke's heart sunk when she recognized who it was. "Hello, Vanessa." Brooke hissed. 

Vanessa, Jordan's twin sister, and has been Brooke's rival since they were little. She has Jordan's tan skin, and long black hair draped over her right shoulder, and piercing green eyes. She wears a bright blue mid-drift top with some white designs on the bottom and black shorts. For years she has known exactly how Brooke ticks and has been able to get right under her skin.

"Brooke! Over here." Her brother got her attention back over to them. "What were you thinking, challenging them like that?" Theo reprimanded her. "What did you expect me to do? Just sit back and let them take the pokemon like that? Running all the way back home to get you would've taken way too much time!" The Professor cleared his throat, reminding the bickering family that this had to wait. 

"There is no need to be upset, everyone is fine, including the three pokemon." He released them, and right away Cyndaquil rushed right over to Brooke's feet and nuzzled her ankle. "Huh?" 

"Brooke, I think he likes you." The professor chuckled and Brooklyn looked down at the small fire type and smiled. "Really?" 

"Probably because you and Jordan went through so much trouble to save him." Brooke knelt down beside Cyndaquil and began stroking his head gently, careful not to touch the flames on his back. "You know, I think you should keep Cyndaquil and train him." The professor suggested and Brooke's eyes went wide. "Really? But doesn't he belong to Professor Elm?" Professor Pine waved his hand dismissively "Oh, he won't mind much, and I'm sure he'll understand if I tell him that I gave him to a worthy trainer." He looked up at her and smiled happily "Cyndaaa~!" 

"I think he likes the idea of being with you, Brooklyn." Her father said, looking down at them. "Here, take this." The professor handed her a pokeball "This is his. You'll need it." Brooke smiled and stood back up, taking the pokeball in her hands. "Thank you, Professor Pine!" She looked down at the small fire type and smiled "I think I'll name you Oshima!" 

"You all should go on home now, it's been a long day." They all headed home and Brooke returned the Cyndaquil to his pokeball, smiling at it the whole way home. 

The next morning Brooke woke after a long and restful sleep, Oshima had taken over Lukas' bed on the floor and Lukas was curled up beside her. She smiled at her team and quietly got dressed and walked down the stairs, not wanting to disturb her sleeping pokemon. When she got down to the living room she saw her brother and his Espeon, Lola, sitting on the couch reading. "Where's Dad?"

"He has a challenge at the gym." She nodded and zipped up her black jacket over her yellow tank-top. "I think I'll go see him, I'll be back in a bit." 

"Okay." She walked out and headed to the gym, needing to use the map on her phone to find it since she still didn't know her way around this big city. 

The gym was meant to look like a power plant and resided just on the outside of town. She walked out to the bleachers that had a good amount of people in them already, her father must be becoming a well known gym leader. The fence was made from electrical beams that prevented anyone-even electric type pokemon-from falling off. As she looked over the edge she could see that the battle was almost over. They were both on their final pokemon. 

The challenger had dark chocolate skin and ink black hair, her brown eyes were fiery bright and her outfit matched the design of an Umbreon. The pokemon she had out was an Absol that looked like it was standing on it's last few legs against her father's Jolteon. They must be tough if they've made it this far against Electrico. "Elliot! Don't let that Absol recover! Use Thunder!" A strong bolt of lightning shot from Elliot at right at Absol, who took it badly. It lay on the ground fainted and the trainer had to return them. "Absol is unable to battle! Trydan and Elliot are the winners!" 

Her father smiled and walked up to his partner, spraying him with a potion before walking up to the challenger and gave her some words of advice and a handshake and sent her on her way. Brooke smiled down at them and clapped mildly, her father was no bragger, and no sore loser either. He supported his challengers win or lose and gave them ways to improve for next time. 

After the challenger had gone and most of the stadium was cleared out Brooke walked out onto the field to go see her father who was talking to some other trainers. When he saw her coming he bid them farewell and waved them off. "Hey Dad, nice battle." 

"Thank you. That trainer has potential, even though she lost. Anyway, I want to talk to you about the other day-" 

"I know, I shouldn't have gone out like that without telling you. It was dumb and reckless. I should have left it up to you, and the professor, and the police, I just didn't know how much time we would have, and I assure you that..." She trailed off when she noticed that he was starting to laugh. "What's so funny?" 

"Brooklyn, you didn't let me finish what I was saying." She remained quiet and let him continue. "I was going to say that what you did was very brave." 

"Huh?" 

"It was very brave of you and Jordan and your pokemon to go out like that even though you knew how dangerous it was. Against the odds you even managed to figure out where they'd gone and beaten them, getting the pokemon back from those thieves. If it hadn't been for you two they might still be with Team Sapphire. It reminds me of what I was like with your mother back in my trainer days in Unova." His green eyes shone with a hint of nostalgia. "I think it's about time that you, Lukas, and Oshima start your journey together." She raised her eyebrows in surprise. She was expecting to be reprimanded, not rewarded. "Really? But we just got here from Unova." 

"That is true, but you're eighteen years old now, I think you've delayed this long enough." 

"Are you sure about this?" 

"Yes, Jordan's mother and the professor agree with me as well. Jordan leaves very soon, and we all think you should travel together." She could hardly contain her excitement and threw her arms around her father. "Thank you so so much, Dad! I love you!" He laughed and hugged her back. "I love you too, Brooke. Now go tell your team, you'll have a lot of preparing to do." She nodded and ran all the way back home, her horrible stamina being ignored and her excitement carried her all the way there.


	4. First Day of the Rest of Your Life

About a week later Brooke's bag was all packed with changes of clothes, camping gear and pokemon food. Lukas was perched on her shoulder and Titus was prancing around Jordan's feet excitedly. Brooke looked out on the road ahead of them and smiled, she'd been waiting for this day since she was ten years old and it was finally happening. "Ready to go, bud?" She looked to the Eevee perched on her shoulder and he smiled widely, wagging his tail back and forth, the soft fur brushing against her hair. She turned to the rest of them and smiled as Jordan took a Totodile from Professor Pine. He released the small water type onto the sand and he smiled a bright, sharp, toothy smile at his new trainer. "'Sup little man!" Jordan knelt down and Totodile looked at him excitedly, his bronze eyes full of energy. "I'm gonna call you Rip. That cool?" 

"Tot-tAH!" He seemed thrilled to be with Jordan and jumped around, wagging his little feet in the air. "Quite the energetic little guy." 

"Jordan, be careful with him. Totodiles tend to-" The professor was cut off when Rip launched himself at Jordan and bit down on his arm. "AHHH!" 

"-bite everything they see." Pine finished his sentence with a defeated sigh as Jordan was able to pry off his new pokemon. "Ouch!" 

"Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine. He didn't mean it to hurt." He rubbed his arm "I'm gonna have to keep my eyes on you." 

"Tota-tota-tota-totadile!" Rip laughed, finding his naughty attitude amusing. "Good luck with him, Jordan." 

"I'll need it, looks like." He chuckled. "Brooke." She turned to her father, smiling widely "Yes?" 

"Here's a TM for the move toxic, it's very useful for Lukas to know." He handed her a disc that had a purple sheen to it. "Thanks, Dad! I'll make good use of it." She placed it in her bag. "And Brooke?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Have fun, and be careful." She smiled and nodded. "I will, Dad, don't worry." He nodded back to her and she turned, setting off into the Maroh Region with Jordan and their pokemon beside them. 

After about an hour and a half or so of walking on the beach they had already encountered many pokemon trainers and their partners have already gone up a few levels. Jordan struck up a conversation after defeating a surfer. "I can't believe we're finally doing this." She looked over at him and praised Oshima for his hard work. "Really?" 

"We're eighteen and nineteen," He pointed to Brooke and himself respectively "we've been waiting for this for eight to nine years. Ya know, most kids only wait 'till they're ten." 

"You're the one who wanted to wait for me here in Maroh." She countered and smiled at him, giving Lukas a treat. "However true that may be, Brooklyn, I still think this is long overdue." 

"Fair enough, but Jordan, you know that you're the only one I wanted to go on a journey with. If you remember, I didn't have many friends back in Unova." 

"Because all you ever did was train and hang out at the gym?" 

"Well-yes. I feel like you're not being very fair." She teased and he glanced over at her. "What, not being fair with the truth?" He snickered at her and took a glance back at Playa City which was turning smaller in the distance. "You're not getting homesick already, are you?" 

"No, it's just-Vanessa." Brooke rolled her eyes at the mention of Jordan's twin sister. "What about her?" 

"She was really upset that she wasn't coming on a journey too. She threw a whole fit to Mom and everything." 

"Figures, the brat always gets whatever she wants." 

"Brookie, come on now, don't be like that." 

"It's not like she never starts it." She defended herself. "She always says how 'I'll never be as good a trainer as my father because Lukas hasn't evolved' blah blah blah." 

"Come on, Brookie, you know that's not true." She ignored him and looked ahead to where the pokemon were running around and rough-housing ahead of them. Rip was messing around and biting the other pokemon playfully, which quite annoyed Hugo. "Hey Jordan, I think Rip needs to get out some of that energy." 

"What do you propose? This little guy is filled with it." 

"How about a battle?" She smirked slightly. "It'll be the first one for both of us as official trainers and we'll see how much the other has grown since our last battle." 

"You mean when we were thirteen?" 

"What do you say? Are you gonna battle me or are you torchic?" She taunted him. "Oh, it's on now." 

They stood opposite each other, both trainers looking determined. "This will be a two-on-two battle. The match will be over when either side is out of able pokemon." Jordan announced the rules and released Rip from his pokeball. "All right, Lukas, you ready?" He nodded and leaped off Brooklyn's shoulder. "Lukas! Let's start this off with quick attack!" 

"Rip! Bite attack!" Lukas raced towards the water type and crashed into him, but right before he ran away Rip clamped down hard on his tail. "Lukas! Quick! Shake him off!" the eevee ran around, but that little bugger just would not let go. "Use iron tail!" Lukas' usual fluffy tail turned silver and that gave him enough strength to throw Rip off. "Great! Now go in with tackle!" 

"Rip! Use water gun!" A burst of water was shot right at Lukas and he was sent flying back. "Hang in there, Lukas! Now, use quick attack!" That was it for Rip and Jordan returned his new water type. "Okay then, Hugo, you're up next!" He released his staravia. "Why not Titus?" Brooke asked him, "Titus is a growlithe, sure, he would be effective against your normal type, but next you have cyndaquil and that'd be difficult for both of us. It's called strategy." She rolled her eyes with a bit of a smile. "Lukas! Quick attack!" He charged for the flying type and crashed right into it. "Hugo, use air cutter!" He flapped his wings and little beams were sent flying towards Lukas, he couldn't dodge in time and fainted. Brooke ran out to retrieve her partner and set him down beside her. "Come on out, Oshima!" She released her cyndaquil and the flames on his back burst, meaning he was ready for a fight. "Oshima! Use smokescreen!" 

"Hugo, stay relaxed, use your wings to blow away the smoke!" 

"Ember attack!" 

"Quick attack!" 

"Tackle!" Not much longer and Hugo was defeated, meaning Brooke was the winner of their little bout. "Great job, Brooke. You're a great battler." 

"For a novice, but thanks! You did a pretty great job too, Jordan." He was about to reply when someone clapping interrupted them. They both looked over to see a woman in a blue fashionable bathing suit. She had tan skin, turquoise hair and bright green eyes. "That was an exciting battle! I'm Agua, by the way." 

"I'm Jordan, and this is my partner, Titus." 

"And I'm Brooke, this here is Lukas." 

"It's nice to meet you guys. You're both pretty strong, I hope you'll be challenging my gym." She placed her hands on her hips with an excited smile on her face. "You're the gym leader of Rosa City?" 

"You bet, I'm the best water type expert in all Maroh, except for when my Dad comes around of coarse." She said with a wink "Who's your father?" 

"Why, only Wallace of Sootopolis City in the Hoenn Region." 

"Your Dad's the Hoenn Champion?" 

"You bet! So you'd best be careful at my gym." She winked again and waved over her shoulder as she left "See you two there~!" 

"Wow, she's gonna be a toughy, Brooke." 

"Yeah, I'll bet. Anyway, we should find a place to camp out, it's getting dark and we probably won't reach Rosa City today." 

They set up their tents and a campfire with Titus' help. It wasn't long until both of them had dozed off and Brooke was dreaming about her gym battle with Agua.


	5. Agua

The next morning the two trainers finally reached Rosa City. It wasn't that big, and most everyone walked around with swim suits, surfboards, and swimmers gear. It's no wonder that this was the place the pokemon association chose for a water type gym with a leader like Agua. They stopped off at the local pokemon center on the way to the gym to heal and rest up before the battle. "Are you gonna be ready for this?" 

"Of coarse! With all the training we've been doing on the way here Lukas, Oshima, and I will be ready for sure!" 

"All right..." 

"What?" She looked over at him with an eyebrow raised. "I just think you may be underestimating the power of a water type trainer like Rosa. She's a champion's daughter and a gym leader. Not to mention you'll have to rely on Lukas for the majority of the battle since Oshima will be weak to her." She waved him off with a brush of her hand "You worry too much, Jordan." 

"If you say so, Brookie." Nurse Joy came back out and handed them their pokemon. "Here you go, all your pokemon are healed up." Each trainer took back their pokeballs and released their partners. "Thanks, Nurse Joy!" She nodded and went back to her work. Just before they left to the gym Brooke caught a glance of a Buizel sitting on a bench all alone. 

They arrived in the gym and it looked like a large indoor pool. There were platforms and floaties all over the water that Brooke assumed the pokemon would be using to fight on. "There you are." Agua was standing on the other end of the pool, listening to her fans in the stadium. "I've been waiting for you, Brooke." She nodded to Jordan and he and Titus walked over to the side to observe the battle. "I've been looking forward to this battle, Agua. This is my first gym battle, and I'm going to win my first gym badge here!" 

"You sound pretty confident. Let's not waste any time, then." Brooke nodded. "This will be a two-on-two battle! The winner will be declared when either of the trainers are out of fight-able pokemon. Substitutions are not allowed. Are you both ready?" They both nodded. "Then release your first pokemon!" 

"Staryu! I choose you!" Agua threw out a pokeball and released a Staryu onto the field. "Lukas! Let's go!" He jumped off her shoulder and landed on one of the platforms, but was startled when it wobbled beneath his weight. "Lesson number one, Brooke. Always make a strong entrance!" Brooke smiled and nodded. "Battle, begin!" 

"Staryu! Use swift!" 

"Dodge it!" Lukas tried to land on a neighboring platform, but mid-jump he was struck and landed in the water. "Lukas! Get up, quick!" 

"Rapid spin, Staryu!" The opponent spin itself so Brooke could no longer tell where it started and where it ended. While Lukas was vulnerable and trying to get onto the platform they struck him back into the water. "Lukas! C'mon, buddy! Use bite! Get back in it!" He nodded and swam back to a platform, "Lukas! Quick attack!" 

He jumped from platform to platform all around Staryu. "Come on, Brooke, are you really trying to get at us with that? You're nowhere close to getting us! Your Eevee is all over the place!" Brooke felt a smirk creep to her face. "We're not trying to attack!" They exchanged a look and Lukas nodded. "Iron tail!" Lukas' tail glowed silver and he whacked it straight into Staryu. "Great job! Use swift!" 

"Dodge it, Staryu!" The star shape pokemon dove underwater at the very last second. "Ugh, we're at a field disadvantage. Since it's made of water she can be anywhere she wants while we have to balance on these flimsy platforms." Brooke thought to herself as she assessed the field. "Lukas! Be ready with iron tail!" He nodded and looked around, ready for whenever and wherever Staryu would pop up. Right when it did Lukas crashed his tail into it, sending it flying back. "Oh no! Staryu!" 

"Great job, Lukas! Keep up the good work!" Agua returned her water type and held out another pokeball. "Now! Time for my star pokemon!" She released a Feebas into the water. "This is Julia, the most beautiful Feebass to ever swim the seas!" 

"A Feebass is your star pokemon?" Brooke asked with an eyebrow raised. "Lesson number two, Brooke. Never judge your opponent too soon."

"Julia! Use rain dance!" A rain cloud appeared above the stadium and it began to drizzle. "Lukas! Use bite!" Julia swam out of the way in time "Tackle!" Julia turned right back around and crashed into Lukas. "What!?" Agua laughed at Brooke's reaction. "See, Feebas is a naturally fast pokemon, and with rain dance activated with Feebas' swift swim, her attack has increased." Of coarse! Brooke never saw it coming, and she had learned about that from her father. She learned everything she knew about battles from her dad. "Use tackle again!" Lukas was sent flying and landed on a floatation device right in front of Brooke. "Lukas!" She rushed over and picked him up in her arms and carried him back to her place. She looked at her final pokeball and sighed. "I'm counting on you, Oshima!" She released her Cyndaquil and Agua raised an eyebrow. "A fire type? This must be your last pokemon unless you're planning some sort of strategy, Brooke." 

"Use smokescreen!" The arena was filled with black smoke. "Locate your opponent and use quick attack!" She heard a complaint from the water type as the smoke cleared, Oshima must have been successful. "Oshima, use tackle!" 

It was another hit. "Julia! Use surf!" A huge wave over took the stadium and she heard Oshima complaining. "Hang in there! Use quick attack again! We have to wear it down! Another hit!" 

"Julia! Use tackle!" Oshima was hit and Brooke noticed the flames on his back were growing weaker, she could feel that both pokemon were getting tired "Oshima! One more tackle attack!" the Feebas was sent flying backwards and fainted. "Yes! We did it!" 

"Good job, Brooke. You gave me quite the battle." Agua returned her water type and jumped across the floaties expertly to get to Brooke. "Here, you've earned it." She handed Brooke a badge and she smiled. "My very fist gym badge! Thank you, Agua." It was light blue with silver accents and in the shape of a rolling wave. "It's called the Ocean Badge." She placed it carefully in her badge case and smiled at how it caught the light. "Brooke, we should get back to the pokemon center to heal up!" Jordan called as he walked over. "Oh! You're right!" She returned Oshima to his pokeball and rushed out of the gym to the pokemon center.


	6. Alone in Rosa City

"Thanks for heeling up our pokemon, Nurse Joy!" Brooke smiled as she got Lukas's and Oshima's pokeballs back from Joy. "No problem! I'm happy to." Brooke looked around and noticed that same Buizel still on the bench. "Hey Jordan, that Buizel was there when we left to go challenge Agua." He looked over and nodded. "Yeah, I remember." Nurse Joy sighed. "The poor thing has been there since this morning." 

"It has?" 

"Yes. Her trainer told her that he would be back in a couple hours, and now it's almost dark and there's still no sign of him. I hate to say it, but I think the poor thing may have been abandoned."

"What!? That's terrible! What kind of trainer would do such a thing?" 

"E eevee!" Lukas agreed from atop Brooke's shoulder. "Brookie, relax a little okay? We don't have all the facts. But it looks kinda lonely, we should at least keep it company." He and Titus walked over and sat beside the Buizel and she looked up at them. "Hey there, Buizel." Brooke and Lukas sat on the other side of her. "Are you waiting for your trainer?" 

"Buiizz..." She replied in a defeated manner. "I'm sure they'll be back soon, but in the meanwhile we'll keep you company. Would you like that?" She perked right up and smiled. "Buiz! Buizell!" Brooke released Oshima from his pokeball and Jordan released Rip and Hugo from their pokeballs. "Rip, remember, NO BITING. Okay?" The totodile nodded and began running around the pokemon center playing with the other pokemon. "How's training him going?" 

"It's going...okay so far? He's just so over the place I can hardly keep track of him." Brooke giggled and continued to watch her pokemon playing around with Jordan's team and Buizel. "I just don't understand how someone can abandon a pokemon, especially one as sweet as Buizel." 

"I don't know, Brooke. People do idiotic things. But at least she isn't upset anymore." 

"Yeah, she seems to be getting along with the other pokemon." 

"Mhm." Jordan nodded in agreement. 

But as the night grew darker there was still no sign of Buizel's trainer and all the pokemon were starting to get tired. "Brooke, we should head up to our rooms if we're going to be hitting the road tomorrow morning. And the pokemon are starting to fall asleep." 

"Then you take up the pokemon, I'll wait down here with Buizel." 

"Brooke, I don't know if that's a good idea." 

"Well someone's got to, I don't want her to be alone." 

"If you say so." He took Lukas and Titus in his arms and returned the pokemon to their pokeballs and headed upstairs while Brooke and Buizel sat together on the bench. "Don't worry, Buizel. I'm sure your trainer will be back soon." 

"Buizz..." 

"No trainer in their right mind would dare leave you behind." Brooke stroked along Buizel's silky fur. "You're such a great pokemon. And you really get along with Titus and Lukas, and the other pokemon too: Oshima, Hugo, and Rip." Being half asleep Brooke didn't really control what was coming out of her mouth. She just talked and talked, about home mostly and it wasn't until then that she realized just how homesick she was. "Hey Buizel, how about we call home? You can meet my dad and my brother?" She smiled up at Brooke and climbed up to her shoulder as the trainer walked over to the phones. 

She sat in front of the screen as it rang. It rang and rang again until her brother's face appeared on screen. "Brooke!" He was sitting in front of the screen, a big smile plastered across his face with his partner Espeon, Lola by his side. "Esp! Espee!" 

"Hey you two! Is Dad around?"

"Yeah! He's in the study, I'll go get him! Wait here a sec!" He left and rushed down the hall to their father's study. Soon they both returned and sat with their partners. "Brooke! It's so good to see you! And who's this? Your new pokemon?" 

"This is Buizel! Jordan and I found her here at the pokemon center waiting for her trainer to come back, he left her this morning and now it's almost 11 o'clock and he's still not here. Jordan and I were keeping her company but he and the pokemon have had a pretty long day, so they all went to bed." Her father nodded in understanding. "I see..." 

"Anyway! I got my first gym badge today!" 

"That's amazing, Brooke! I'm so proud of you!" Her father smiled "Yeah, that's super cool, Brooke!" 

"Thanks you guys, how are things at home?" 

"Great. The lab has recovered since the Team Sapphire incident, and there has been no sighting of them since." 

"Good. I don't want to have to save them again." Brooke smirked a bit and Theo scoffed. "We can take care of ourselves just fine without you, thanks." He replied with a playful eye roll. "Oh yeah? And where were you while I was saving the pokemon?" 

"Well-I-uh-I'm just glad you're finally gone on your journey." He shot back teasingly "Okay okay, you two, that's enough. We should all be getting to sleep. I hope that trainer shows up!" 

"By Dad! Bye Theo! Bye Lola and Elliot!" They all waved goodbye and the screen turned black. Brooke carried Buizel back to the couch and it wasn't long until they both fell asleep there. 

Brooke's eyes opened the next morning to someone shaking her shoulder. "Huh? What?" 

"Brooke, are you awake?" She rubbed her eyes and sat up, realizing she slept in the lobby of the pokemon center. "And Buizel is still here." Jordan pointed out. Brooke looked down next to her to see that Buizel was curled up next to her and she frowned, the trainer didn't even come in the night. The sea weasel pokemon raised her head groggily. "Buiz...?"

"Brooke...I don't think they're coming." Brooke's eyes met Buizel's reddish brown ones and she frowned. Why would someone abandon such a nice pokemon like her? "Brooke Areca, Brooke Areca please come to the front desk." She exchanged a look with Jordan and they all walked over to see Agua standing there waiting for them. "Hi again, guys!" 

"Agua! What's up?" 

"After our battle the other day, I wanted to give you this. It's a TM for a move called Scald and very useful for a water type pokemon to know!" She handed Brooke a disk that had a blueish tint to it. "Thank you so much, Agua!" She took the disk and placed it in her bag. "So, are you on your way to the next gym?" 

"Yeah!" 

"Then might I recommend Hierba? He's a powerful grass type trainer in all Maroh and lives in Colina Town north east from here." 

"Thanks Agua! That sounds great! We'll head there today." Jordan smiled at the water type gym leader. "Hold on a moment, I know this Buizel." She looked down at the pokemon at Brooke's feet. "You do?" 

"Yeah, her trainer just challenged me the other day. He took the loss pretty hard." 

"Could it be that this trainer left this pokemon because he lost a battle?" 

"It's not unheard of." Brooke looked down at Buizel to see her sad face had returned and she was looking down at the ground. "Brooke, we should get going." Jordan reminded her. 

Brooke knelt down so she was closer in eye level to Buizel. "Hey Buizel?" 

"Buiz...?" 

"How would you like to come on my journey with me?" The small pokemon's eyes widened. "You can help me win gym badges and get to the championship. And I promise I'll take good care of you." She hardly hesitated and nodded her head excitedly. "Alright then! Go pokeball!" She threw out an empty pokeball and Buizel jumped into it. It wobbled a few times, then made that familiar clicking sound that let Brooke know that she had a new friend on her team. She looked into the now occupied pokeball and smiled at Buizel. "Hey there! I'm gonna call you Sophia, okay?" The ball shook happily and Brooke placed the ball on her belt along with Oshima. 

"Good luck on your journeys you two!" 

"Thanks Agua!" 

"Come on back and visit sometime!" She waved to them as they left Rosa City, and headed to the next town to challenge Hierba.


	7. So We Meet Again

The two had booked it to Colina town after a rainstorm had made them travel most of the night to the Colina Town pokemon center. Brooke was sleeping in after a long night with her team sleeping over her when someone shook her awake. "Huh? What's going on?" Brooke opened her bright blue eyes slowly and sat up, throwing Lukas off her shoulder by accident, making him glare up at her. "Morning, Sunshine." Jordan chuckled, standing beside her bed already dressed and ready for the day. "You're gonna go to the gym today, remember?" 

"Oh right!" She leaped out of the bed, making her pokemon complain that they were woken up too early. 

After getting dressed in a hurry she walked outside the pokemon center with Jordan, Titus, and Lukas and began on their way to the gym. The gym was a large green house with ivy covering the sides all around. "Must be a grass type gym, is Oshima ready?" Jordan asked her as they neared the door. "He is! All the training we did on the way here really payed off!" When they were about to go through the doors they opened and both Brooke and Jordan were surprised by who stood before them. "Vanessa!?" Jordan's bright amber eyes were wide as he gazed at his twin sister. "Oh hi Jordan!" She cast a glare that matched Brooke's. "Hello Brooklyn." 

"Vanessa." Brooke hissed through clenched teeth. "What are you doing here?" Brooke asked her rival. "Mom let me come on my own journey with Nicole here." She gestured down to her mawile who had her trainer's smug grin painted on her face. "Now that I'm on this journey I can see how easy it's gonna be, I already have three gym badges." 

"Three?" Jordan repeated. "Of coarse, Brooke's father in Playa Town, Agua in Rosa City, and Hierba." She snickered. "Don't tell me you two are just getting here, and with only one badge." 

"Watch it, Vanessa! I'll catch up in no time." 

"As if. My bet is you turn back home to daddy in a matter of days. I mean, you didn't even have the courage to face him before you left." She smirked and strut past the two trainers and her Mawile brushed past Lukas forcefully. Brooke was about to go after her when Jordan reached out and grasped her arm. "It's not worth it, Brooke. Maybe you need to clear your head before you go in there." 

"I'm fine." Brooke replied through clenched teeth, but didn't take her eyes off the direction Vanessa went. "Brookie, look at me." He stepped in her line of sight so she had no choice but to look up at him. "If your head is on Vanessa while you're in there you won't be able to focus on the battle, your team needs you in your best state unless you want to lose." She sighed, "You're right. So what do you suggest before we go in there?" 

"Let's take a walk around, why not take in the city while we're here?" 

"Sounds fine by me." 

Lukas and Titus walked side by side as the teenagers wandered around the city, taking in the cute historic town surrounding a small hill. 

"What's up with that well on top of the hill? Why is everything just surrounding it, it's not still in commission, is it?" Brooke asked, gazing up at the top of the hill that was covered in flowers and decorated rocks. "This is the memorial place for pokemon. People place stones that have the name of their pokemon on this hill in hope of seeing them one last time." 

"Why would they do that?" 

"Well legend has it when the first people in this town to do that saw their pokemon outside that night. They all thought it was mew cause it supposedly lives in this area." 

"Mew? Really?" 

"Yeah, mew has the DNA of every pokemon." 

"Believe me, I know everything about every main pokemon legend." Brooke replied as Jordan laughed a bit. "Oh yeah! I forgot Theo loves legendary pokemon." 

"Yeah, on the plane over here he was reading a book all about some Maroh legends to help get acquainted with the region." The two started walking up the hill, and inspecting all the flowers and rocks curiously when a small voice came from behind them. "Did you both lose a pokemon too?" The two turned around to see a girl, maybe about the age of ten holding a stone in her hands, looking up at them. "Uhm, no, we just came up to get a look. Did you?" Jordan replied, kneeling down to look her in the eyes. She nodded softly "My family's glameow. So I hope mew will let me see glameow one last time." 

"So you really believe in mew then, huh, kid?" Brooke asked and the girl nodded "I do, but a lot of people here don't believe any more." 

"Why not?" 

"Mew hasn't shown anyone their pokemon in a long time. Some people are saying that it's not real, or just doesn't live around here." 

"Well I'm sure wherever mew is it is keeping all of your pokemon in mind." Jordan smiled at the girl and she smiled a little in return. "I'm Katrina."

"I'm Jordan, and this is my partner, Titus." The growlithe nuzzled Katrina's hand. "And I'm Brooke, this here is Lukas." She gestured to the eevee on her shoulder. "I should go home now, have fun in the city!" 

"Bye bye, Katrina!" Brooke and Jordan waved goodbye to the girl as she hopped down the hillside and back into town. "What a nice girl." 

"Yeah. Anyway, we should head back to the pokemon center, I guess a little more training couldn't hurt me. And I wouldn't mind calling Dad and Theo to let them know I got here okay." 

"Yeah, I suppose I should call my mom too." Jordan nodded and led the way back to the pokemon center. 

They walked in through the glass doors and made their way to the phones and Brooklyn dialed her father's number back home.


	8. It's an Imposter!

Brooke woke up the next morning to Sophie licking her face. "Huh?? What?" 

"This journey is gonna be a hassle, Brookie, if you keep sleeping late. You have a gym challenge, ya know." 

"Right!" She quickly got out of bed and got ready while Jordan fed her team for her. 

They were on their way there when they passed a park and saw a little blonde girl sitting alone on a bench. "Hey Brooke, isn't that Katrina?" 

"Yeah...what is she doing all alone? She looks a little sad." 

"Let's go over to see her." Brooke nodded and the two teenagers walked over to the bench. "Katrina?" She looked up. "Oh, hi." 

"Is something wrong?" 

"Mew isn't real." The two trainers exchanged a glance. That was a change from yesterday. "What made you change your mind?" 

"Mew didn't let me see Glameow yesterday." Tears brimmed the girl's bright eyes. "Everyone was right, it's just a legend." 

"Come on, Katrina, why don't we take you home, huh?" She nodded and stood back up, leading them back to her house. 

After Katrina knocked a man in his forties with dirty blond hair answered the door. "Hello, Katrina." 

"Hi Daddy. These are two friends I made, Brooke and Jordan." 

"It's nice to meet you, please do come in." They all stepped inside the cute little house. "Katrina, why don't you go to the kitchen and get the pokemon something to eat, hm? I'll help make your friends comfortable." She nodded slowly and shuffled off to the kitchen. Her father sighed and led them to the living room. "Are you two from around here?" He asked as he poured them each some tea. "No, we're from Playa Town on our journeys." 

"I see! Those are some nice pokemon you've got there." 

"Thank you, this eevee here is Lukas." 

"And this is Titus." 

"I'm glad Katrina is making more friends." 

"Is she okay? Her spirits seem to be pretty crushed." He sighed. "She really believed in Mew. It's a total one-eighty from the other day. Everyone has been down lately." 

"Because of Mew?" 

"Because of Mew, and many pokemon have gone missing recently." 

"Missing?" 

"Stolen. Right out of their homes. The local police are stumped." He sighed again. "I don't know what's happening to this town." 

"Do you think these two are connected?" 

"A lot of folks do. Those who still believe in Mew say that Mew was captured along with the others. They both started happening at around the same time." Katrina then came back in the room and dropped off two bowls of milk for Lukas and Titus, petting them as they knelt to drink. "I'm gonna go get my chores done, okay Daddy?" He nodded and she walked off. "Is she going on her journey?" 

"She doesn't know yet, she is very good with pokemon. Her mother and I want her to go, we know how much this can do for her. We may have to get her to Playa Town to meet with Professor Pine." Brooke nodded. "She is a very sweet little girl." 

"Thank you, yes. My wife, Joanne, and I can tell she's going places. Are you two here for a gym battle with Hierba?" 

"Yeah, he'll be my second gym badge." Brooke replied with a nod. "I'm not travelling to gyms. I want to become a Pokemon Ranger." 

"Well thank you for bringing Katrina home, hopefully she'll feel better soon." the trainers stood up and their Pokemon stood beside them. "Good luck in your gym match." 

"Thank you. Would it be okay if we come back and visit Katrina before we leave?" 

"I know she would love that, thank you. It was nice meeting you both." 

"You too, sir." 

The teenagers and their partners walked out of the home and started making their way to the gym, but Brooke couldn't get her mind off all the missing pokemon. It didn't make any sense, how could they all be stolen without a trace? 

They walked through the middle of the town and Brooklyn looked up at the old well on the hill. "Brooke?" 

"Huh? Yah?" She looked over at Jordan, his amber eyes could see right through her. "You wanna find those missing pokemon, don't you." 

"It doesn't seem right, Jordan. Something is going on here. I mean, how could pokemon just vanish like that?" 

"Well then, as a future pokemon ranger, it is my duty to look into the matter. Right Titus?" His partner barked a reply in confirmation and they both raced up the hill. Brooke smiled and ran after them. 

"So, Mr. Ranger. What are we looking for?" Brooke asked as she watched them snoop around the well. "Anything that looks out of place. Signs of a battle, or anything that looks out of place." Titus jumped up onto the side of the well and started barking to his trainer, who walked over. "Like this!" He held up a white glove and showed it to Brooke. "Isn't this-" 

"A Team Sapphire glove? Correct." He interrupted her in his excitement. "Titus, can you find them?" He held the glove in front of his partner's nose. The Growlithe sniffed it for a moment and looked in a few different directions, trying to track down the scent. Suddenly Titus began barking and raced off towards the forest outside the city. "He's found them! Let's go!" Jordan ran after him with Brooke and Lukas close behind him. 

The more they ran further and further into the woods, the more they began to slow down. When Titus signaled them all to stop and get low, they knew they found them. They gazed through the brush and were able to see two Team Sapphire grunts surrounding a glameow in a cage. 

"Ugh, remind me why we can't just get this thing to Beige already and get out of here." One of them complained. "We have to be sure that this is really Mew, and we won't know that until it transforms back." 

"We've been here for weeks! I'm sick of this stupid town." 

"Well it's this, or we find out how Beige reacts when we give her a pokemon that isn't Mew." The first one shuddered. "Alright, alright, I get it. I just wish this thing would give it up already, it can't hold out much longer." 

Brooke couldn't hold out any longer, she bolted up and into the clearing "Let that poor pokemon go!" The two Team Sapphire members looked at her, startled. "How'd you find us here!" 

"That doesn't matter now, we'll make you forget you saw us. Go Bergmite!" Jordan stepped up beside her and the second Team Sapphire member sent out an Alolan Sandshrew. "Go Titus!" Jordan's partner growled at the Bergmite and Brooke took a pokeball from her pocket. "Go Oshima!" She released her Cyndaquil who glared at the Sandshrew. 

"Use Powder Snow!"

"Retaliate with Ember!" Oshima melted the oncoming snow with his fire. "Quick attack, let's go!" Oshima darted forwards and slammed into the Sandshrew. "Metal claw, Drake!" Brooke was a little surprised. It wasn't often a Team Sapphire member named their pokemon. "Oshima, use quick attack!" the small fire type jumped for the Sandshrew, but the opponent blocked it with a quick metal claw. The two attacks pushed against each other, both pokemon struggling to push past the other. As they thrust, Oshima began to glow and change shape. His body became longer and his arms became longer, a new burst of flames grew on his head and his snout became much smaller. Once the glowing stopped Brooke could see Oshima had evolved into a Quilava. Brooke smiled widely and Oshima looked back at her with a confident smile, but they were snapped out of their celebration when the opponent slashed Oshima with a metal claw attack, bringing him close to fainting.

"Okay then! Oshima, use ember!" The Sandshrew was hit with the flames and teetered over. "Drake!" The Team Sapphire member looked surprised, but returned his pokemon and glared at Brooke. "You may have won this battle, but Glace won't be so easy to beat." He turned and ran away and Brooke looked over to see Jordan sending his opponent on their way as well. He looked over and saw Oshima had evolved. "Hey! Look at that! Congrats, you two!" 

"Thanks Jordan!" Brooke knelt down and hugged Oshima. "You did a great job, buddy!" 

"Quiii!" He nuzzled her happily and Brooke laughed a bit. Brooklyn looked up as Jordan made his way over to the cage and had Titus break it open with an iron tail attack. The glameow jumped down gracefully and looked over at the trainers. "Were you on your way to go visit Katrina?" Brooke asked and the pokemon nodded and suddenly transformed into... a ditto. "You're a ditto!?" The ditto snickered playfully. "So there really was no mew, it's been ditto all along." The ditto made its way to a truck the Team Sapphire members had forgotten there in the clearing and pointed towards the doors. Jordan opened them and stared in shock. "Brooke, come here." She stood, setting down her pokemon and walked up behind her friend to see the back of the truck was filled with pokemon in cages. "These must be all the missing pokemon!" 

"Let's get them back into town, the town will be happy to see their pokemon again." He closed the doors and hopped into the driver's seat of the car. Brooke turned to the ditto in the clearing. "You're doing a great thing here, Ditto. If you'd like, we won't tell anyone that you're a ditto and not a mew." The ditto nodded happily before transforming into Lukas and running off into the woods. "Brooke! Come on!" Jordan called her from the car and she hopped in after him.


	9. A Name That Means Fire

The two teenagers drove the van back into the small town and opened the back and released all the pokemon from their cages. People gathered to greet their pokmeon back and Brooke smiled when she saw how happy everyone was greeting their partners back. "Brooke? Jordan?" they turned to see Katrina there. "Hey Katrina! We found the bad guys who were stealing all the pokemon!" Her bright blue eyes sparkled "Really?" 

"Yeah! We battled them and sent them running. There were there with a glameow in a cage." 

"A Glameow?" 

"Yeah, we think it must've been Mew! It must've been on its way to see you when they captured it." Katrina smiled "That's really nice of Mew." 

"Excuse me." An older man walked up to them. He had short salt and pepper hair and stood at about Jordan's height and wore a green military officer's uniform. "Did you two trainers free all these pokemon?" 

"Yes, we did." 

"Then on behalf of my two I thank you, you've brought these trainers and pokemon back together. What are your names?" 

"I'm Brooke, and this is my partner, Lukas." She pet the Eevee perched on her shoulder. "I'm Jordan, and this is my partner, Titus. Who are you?" 

"I am Hierba. The gym leader in this town." He replied, clasping his hands behind his back in a proud posture. "You're the gym leader?" 

"Will you be challenging my gym?" 

"I will, he won't be." Brooke replied. He turned to her. "Well then, I look forward to your imminent challenge. I hope you're prepared." He turned and walked away through the crowd as it began to disperse. "Wow, that guy's intimidating." Brooke commented after Hierba had left. 

"Hopefully he doesn't freak you out too much tomorrow." Jordan chuckled and Brooke scoffed "No worries, I'm sure that I'll have everything under control for tomorrow. Especially now that Oshima's a Quilava." 

"If you insist, Brookie." 

"What, you don't think I'm ready?" 

"I'm just saying it may not be that easy." 

"I've got everything under control, Jordan." They both looked over when they noticed Katrina was still standing there. "Hey kid, why don't we walk you home?" 

"Okay! Sure!" The three of them made their way back to Katrina's house. Brooke had released Sophia to play with her while they walked, and both of them seemed to be having a lot of fun. Sophia was very good with being gentle while playing. 

"Hold on you two, I need to grab something from the Pokémon Center quickly." 

"But Jordan, can't you just get it when we come back from dropping Katrina off? She only lives around the corner." 

"Nah, I've gotta get it now. It's really important. I'll only be a minute." He rushed inside without letting Brooklyn stop him, leaving the two girls out there with the Pokemon. "I wonder what could be so important." 

"Brooke?" 

"Huh? Yeah? What's up, Katrina?" 

"Is it fun travelling with a friend?" Brooke smiled. "Oh yeah! Tons of fun! Not only does it give me someone to talk to, but the Pokemon get to make more friends too." 

"Are you going to be the Champion, Brooke?" 

"Well that's the goal. I've gotta beat the gym leaders and elite four first." 

"Well, if you are the Champion one day, of somewhere, will you battle me?" 

"Hm?" 

"I wanna be a great battler too! So, one day, when I'm a lot stronger, will you battle with me?" 

"Yeah, sure." 

"Promise?" Brooke smiled softly. "Yeah, okay, I promise." Katrina smiled widely. "Thanks Brooke!" Jordan walked back out of the Pokémon Center. "Well? What was so important?" 

"You'll find out in a minute. Come on, kid, let's get you home." Jordan began walking and the two others followed him. 

They soon arrived at Katrina's house to drop her off. "Here we are!" 

"Thank you two, I reall-" 

"Wait Katrina, before you go inside, I have a present for you." 

"You do?" Both girls asked in unison. "Yeah, here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pokeball. He pressed the button lightly and released a vulpix from inside. "This is a vulpix I caught when I was working with Professor Pine back in Playa Town. Her name is Titaia. It means Fire." 

"You're giving her to me?" 

"Yeah. If you're gonna be a trainer, you need a Pokémon. Right?" He held out the fire type's pokeball to the blonde girl. "Here is her pokeball. Take good care of her, huh?" The little girl excitedly reached for the pokeball. "I will, Jordan! I will! Thank you!" She opened the door to her house. "Come on, Titaia!"

"Oh Katrina."

"Yes?"

"I'll be challenging the gym tomorrow as soon as it opens, if you're interested in watching. A good trainer has got to study others' battles."

"Okay! Titaia and I will be cheering you on, Brooke!"

"Thanks, Katrina! See you tomorrow!" The door shut with both Katrina and her new partner on the inside. 

The two trainers headed back to the Pokémon Center as the sun set over the well on the hill. "That was a really nice thing to do for Katrina, Jordan." He shrugged. "It was nothing. She deserved it. Besides, Titaia was getting bored around the lab lately anyway. She needed to either be released or given to someone else. I think Katrina will be a great fit for her." 

"You big softie." Brooke teased and he laughed, "Oh shut up!" 

"Jordan?" 

"Yeah?" 

"On an unrelated note. Do you know who Glace is?" Brooke asked as they entered their room. Jordan paused for a moment. "No. Who is that?" 

"I don't know. One of the Team Sapphire members mentioned someone named Glace today as he was running away. I wonder who that is." 

"Yeah..." He took off his windbreaker and hung it on the headboard of his bed. "Anyway, don't worry about it. He's probably just one of their leaders or something." 

"Yeah, I guess so..."


	10. Hierba

Brooke and Jordan arrived at the grass type pokemon gym as soon as the employees opened the doors for her. "I'm surprised you woke up early enough to make your appointment on time." Jordan teased her as she walked ahead of him, Lukas perched on her shoulder. "Well the sooner I beat Hierba, the sooner we can head on to the next town and I can get my next badge." 

"Slow down there, eager bibarel. Why don't you take things one at a time instead of rushing it."

"You just wait, Jordan." She brushed him off as she arrived to the field. It was surrounded by plants and the stadium looked like it was set up in the middle of a forest. Jordan walked over to the protected sidelines to watch from there. She looked to her partner on her shoulder "Ready?" 

"Vee!" He nodded, determination glimmering in his eyes. "Let's go." She stepped up to the challengers' stand across from Hierba who stood, imposing, on the other side. "Hello again, Brooke. I was waiting for you." 

"Well then, let's get this started then!" 

"Agreed." He nodded to the referee. "This will be a two-on-two battle! The winner will be determined when the last remaining pokemon is still able to fight! Substitutes are allowed! Release your pokemon!" 

"I'll show my pokemon first: Gloom!" He released the pokemon and they waited for Brooke to release hers. It was a no brainer. "Go Oshima!" She tossed out the quilava's pokeball. His flames burned brighter with excitement and she smiled confidently, knowing he was ready. "A fire type, huh? Well, it'll take more than that to have me running in retreat." 

"Battle begin!" The ref called out. "Oshima! Use Smokescreen!" The whole field was covered in a dense smoke "Use quick attack!" She heard a complaint from Gloom and smiled. "Use sunny day to get rid of that smoke!" 

Through the glass ceiling the sun became stronger and the smoke disappeared. Brooke frowned, now their cloak was gone. "Okay. Sunny day? Use ember!" 

"Dodge it." The Gloom moved swiftly out of the way. "What!?" 

"Brooke!" Jordan called to her from the sidelines. "That Gloom's special ability must be Chlorophyll!" She looked back to the battlefield. "It increases the pokemon's speed in bright sun light!" 

"Your friend there is right." Hierba replied with a small smile. "Use poison powder!" A purple powder sprung from Gloom's flower and infected Oshima, turning his face that purple. "Oshima!" 

"Now solar beam!" 

"Ember, quick!" the move was super effective, and Brooke could tell that both pokemon were nearing their limit. She and Oshima would need to act fast if they were going to keep the advantage in this battle. "Ember, again!" this was the move to do it. Gloom fell over, fainted from the super effective fire type attacks. "Yes! Great job, Oshima!" Hierba returned his pokemon. "Gloom shouldn't have fainted quite yet..." 

"Oshima's special ability is blaze. Two can play at your abilities game, Hierba." She smirked and winked. He even smiled a little. "Alright! You've asked for it now, here's my second and last pokemon. Go Rose!" He released an Ivysaur onto the field. 

"Oshima, come back!" The quilava sped back to Brooke and took a rest by her side. "Go Lukas!" Her partner ran out onto the field and stood across from Rose in a fighting stance. "Quick attack, let's go!" Lukas charged right into Rose and sent the ivysaur back. "We won't let you get away with that. Poison powder!" 

"Are you okay, Lukas!?" 

"Ee...vee!" 

"Good boy! Hang in there! Use iron tail!" 

"Leech seed!" Vines grew out of the ground and wrapped themselves around the little eevee, strapping him in place. "Lukas, try to break free!" But no matter what he did the poison and vines were too much for him. "Rose, use vine whip!" 

Brooke was at a loss, nothing now could get Lukas out...except maybe...

"Lukas! Use swift on yourself!" 

"What?" Hieba and Rose, along with the rest of the fans in the stadium were astounded she would order such a thing, but her partner seemed to understand. He launched the attack and the little stars boomeranged and sliced the vines, setting him free. "Now, use quick attack!" Lukas charged at Ivysaur a couple times, and one was a critical hit!

Rose fell to the ground, also fainted. "Yes! We did it!" Lukas ran back up to her and jumped in her arms. She fed him a pecha berry to heal him of his poison and he nuzzled her cheek. "Great job, Lukas! You were wonderful!" The crowd in the gym cheered for her and Jordan rushed onto the field. "Congrats, Brookie!" 

"Haha! Thanks Jordan! I couldn't have done it without these guys." The pet both Lukas and Oshima to praise them for their hard work. "Brooke." She looked over and Hierba was there with a small green velvet box in his hand. "You've earned this. The Autumn Badge." He opened it to reveal a small badge in the shape of a crumbling leaf colored a bright amber. "Thank you, Hierba." 

"Not many trainers give me such a combonation of strategy and power. You're Electrico's girl, aren't you?" She was surprised. "U-Uh, yes. I am." 

"He let me know you'd be coming to my gym. Give him my regards next time you see him, won't you?" 

"Y-Yes. I will." She took the badge from the box and placed it in her badge case gently. "Come on, Brookie, we should head back to the Pokemon Center to heal up." 

"If you don't mind me asking, Brooke. Do you know where you're headed next?" 

"No, I don't." 

"I would recommend Fuego in Berg City. He can be a bit arrogant, but he'd be a formitable opponent for you next." 

"Thank you, Hierba." The two trainers left the gym and made their way back to the pokemon center to rest up before heading out to challenge their next gym leader: Fuego.


	11. The Maroh Rangers

The two trainers and their partners were on their way to Berg City and were stopping at a quiet river to have some lunch. Lukas was hovering around Jordan who was still eating his lunch while Rip and Sophia were playing and splashing in the river, Oshima was watching them from the banks, Titus was taking a nap alone in the sun, and Hugo was cleaning his feathers in the shade of a tree. "What a nice day, huh?" 

"Yeah, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves." He finished swallowing, "Have you told your dad that you just got your second gym badge yet?" 

"I texted him a while ago, but I know he has a lot of appointments today. What about your mom? Have you told her you're on your way to Berg City?" 

"I have. She's very happy for us. Vanessa is leaving Berg City today." 

"She's already leaving!?" Brooke nearly spit out her water. "Yeah." 

"Uggghhh! Now she's two badges ahead of me again! I'm never going to catch up to her!" 

"Why does it have to be a race? The Pokémon League Challenge happens the same time every year, you'll both get there." 

"You don't get it, Jordan. She's been ahead of me for everything! Just once I thought I was finally catching up! Every moment matters, the quicker she beats all eight gym badges, the more time she'll have to plan her strategy for the league!" She exclaimed as she began packing up her bag. "Brooke, what are you doing?" 

"Packing up so we can get on the road. I'm not letting her get that far ahead of me!" 

"Brooke, sit down." 

"Are you coming or what?" She demanded, looking down at him with her things already packed and ready to go. He sighed heavily. "Okay, okay, I'm coming." He stood slowly and packed all his things, then they both returned their pokemon. "You can have a little rest sometimes, you know." 

"Once I get ahead of Vanessa, I will." She replied as they crossed over a small wooden bridge to get to the other side of the river. "I don't get you, Brookie. Sometimes you can be a bit stubborn and you can't see that what Vanessa is--" He was cut off when they heard yelling coming from over a hill. They exchanged a look and raced up there together to see a crowd of Team Sapphire grunts circling some kids. "Hey! What are you doing!? Give me back my Magnemite!" cried a little boy. "No way, brat, don't you know that all pokemon belong to people like us who can afford to take care of them?" 

"Give me back my Electrike now!" A little girl who looked like she could be the boy's sister yelled. "And you should know it's rude to yell at your elders." Said a woman who stood out against the other grunts. She was a bit taller than them. She had mid-length blue hair and dark blue eyes. She wore a tight blue dress that had white thick stripes and white fur at the collar, cuffs, and bottom, along with tall blue fashion boots that faded to white in the middle.

"Hey! Give those kids back their pokemon!" Brooke yelled from the top of the small hill. The Team Sapphire members turned at looked at them, then looked to the woman in the special clothes. "Well, well, well, looks like we have some unexpected visitors. I may as well introduce myself before I take your pokemon as well. I'm Beige. A leader of the glorious Team Sapphire. Now, you two need to be taught a lesson on barging in on others' business! Go Cryogonal!" She released her pokemon who stared at the two trainers menacingly. "Lukas, let's go!" He jumped off of her shoulder and stared down the Cryogonal in front of him. "Acid Armor." She commanded and her ice type's defense went up. "Use iron tail!" Lukas' tail turned silver and he whacked it into Cryogonal. It was super effective. "Now Aurora beam!" 

"Bite attack!" There was a pause in the battle where the two stared each other down, and suddenly a group of people in red and black uniforms jumped out of the brush. "Pokemon Rangers! Stand down and return the pokemon!" Beige looked around at them and looked at a Jynx one of the grunts had out. "Teleport, now!" 

"Jiiiiinx!" They all vanished into thin air, leaving the two stolen pokemon behind. The two kids retreived their pokemon happily and Brooke looked over at who looked like the leader of the group of rangers. "What was that all about! We almost had them!" 

"We're the Pokemon Rangers, we were doing our job. Who are you?" A tall woman with long blonde hair replied. "I'm Brooke Areca, and this is my partner, Lukas. We almost had that leader of Team Sapphire beat if you hadn't--" 

"I'm Jordan O'Connor, and this is my partner, Titus. Sorry to interrupt your mission, Captain. I'm sure it'll never happen again." Jordan cut in. "It had better not. Maybe if they hadn't needed their pokemon out, they wouldn't have gotten away so quickly." 

"They would've taken their pokemon out anyway whether or not we got there first or not." Brooke countered. "Brooke, I think that's enough." Jordan said sternly under his breath, not wanting to look bad in front of the Rangers. "I don't think we caught your name, ma'am." 

"Oh, my apologies, my name is Captain Maria Carson and I run the base in between Colina Town and Berg City." 

"It's an honor to meet you, Captain. We've been out all day, do you think we could go to your base and spend the night there?" 

"Jordan!" Brooke protested. "Come on, Brookie, we need a place for tonight. It's better than sleeping in a tent, right." 

"We have to make it to Berg City, Jordan." 

"There's no way we're making it to Berg City tonight, Brooke. It's best to have a place to sleep." She crossed her arms and huffed a bit. "We'll show you the way there." The Captain nodded and led them off in the other direction.


	12. On Their Own Path

They all arrived at the Ranger Base. It was a large base with offices and dormitories and tech buildings. Brooke scowled as she looked around, but Jordan couldn't look more excited. "The rangers will show you both to a room to stay the night, I'll be in my office if you two need me." The Captain nodded to them and walked off. Brooklyn and Jordan were shown into the dorms and they were very nice, even had a little cafeteria and a rec room. "So, where are you two from?" A guy with light blue hair asked them both as he showed them to the room. "Playa Town, although we grew up together in Castelia City." 

"Oh, in Unova?" 

"Yeah!" 

"That's so cool! I have an uncle who lives there." 

"Oh nice! Ya know, Brooke's dad used to be the gym leader there." 

"Really?" He looked over at Brooke. "That's really cool! Is he a gym leader here now too?" 

"Yeah." Brooke replied shortly. "Don't worry about her, she's just anxious to get to Berg City for her next gym challenge." 

"Well, here we are at your room. Dinner is usually served around Seven. We usually are all hanging out in the rec rooms now if you're interested." 

"Sounds like fun! We'll be over there soon." Jordan smiled and waved as the ranger left the two alone in the room. "You can go down, I'll be doing some planning and training while I wait." She said as she took off her jacket and her backpack, but as she did so she didn't notice the necklace she always wore slipped off her neck. "Come on, Brooke, I know you're anxious about getting your next badge, but at least enjoy yourself while you're here. It's not healthy to be training all the time." 

"Well I can't let Vanessa get ahead of me." Jordan sighed and took off his windbreaker, wearing his white T-shirt. "What is it with you two? It's like you're obsessed with each other." 

"Obsessed?" 

"Yeah! Obsessed!" Lukas and Titus were now paying more attention to their trainers, listening as their voices raised a little bit. "It's like you both set out on your journeys just to get back at each other. You're just trying to best each other. Did you really even set out because you even want to be champion?" 

"What!? What kind of question is that? Of coarse I do!" 

"Then prove it, Brooklyn! Just let my sister go!" 

"It's not like I've never started it! It's always her fault!" 

"That doesn't justify anything, Brooke. If you're going to become the Champion, do it for yourself, not because you wanted to best my sister." 

"Oh yeah, cause you're the only one who can do anything for himself, Mr. Future Pokemon Ranger. You still haven't told me why you even wanted to become a ranger." 

"Why can't I just want to do this, huh?" 

"Don't think I bought the "we need to somewhere to sleep tonight" crap. I know we're only here because you're desperate to make some friends in the Rangers before you go into it." 

"What's so wrong with making connections?" 

"There's something wrong when you don't consult me, or when it gets in the way of my goal." 

"Well then. I guess our goals can't go together here." 

"I guess so." Brooke agreed bitterly. She picked her backpack up, slipped on her black windbreaker and began for the door. "Come on, Lukas." 

"Ee eevee!" He tried to protest, "We're. Going." Brooke looked over her shoulder to make sure her partner was following, she made eye contact with Jordan briefly, his amber eyes were narrowed as he watched her go. 

 

She left the grounds of the ranger base and headed back on the path, a sticky heat in the air, and dark clouds loomed in the distance. "Ee....eevee?" Lukas said from beside her, but Brooke didn't look down. "Our goals don't line up, Lukas. He wants to be a ranger, and I want to be the champion. That's it." He didn't say anything else. 

They kept walking until Lukas' stomach started growling, and Brooke realized she didn't have anything to cook with. "Come on, let's pit stop for lunch, huh?" 

"Eeee..." 

She opened her team's pokeballs and they all waited eagerly while she poured their bowls filled with food. She took a leftover food container from her bag and ate along with her pokemon. It was quiet. Quieter than she thought it'd be. "Come on, guys, we should get finishing up. Looks like it's going to rain soon. Come back, Oshima and Sophia." She returned them to their pokeballs and sighed. "Ee?" 

"I'm fine, Lukas. Let's just get to Berg City, we must be almost there by now." She packed up once more and made her way along the path again, but she was starting to feel tired and it was beginning to rain. Her feet dragged in the dirt and mud. 

Meanwhile at the ranger base Jordan had joined the other rangers for dinner. "Hey Jordan, where'd your friend go? The girl?" 

"Oh, she headed off to Berg City. We got into a little fight and we decided I should stay behind and focus on becoming a Pokemon Ranger." 

"Oh really? Sorry to hear that. She was cute." Jordan nearly choked on his food. "Sorry dude," he apologized, seeing Jordan's reaction, "Was she your girlfriend?" The black haired boy coughed violently "Nope. Absolutely not. Never has been." They laughed. "Chill out, Jordan! We're teasing you." Their conversation was cut by a loud crash of thunder, and the power flickered, then went out. "Don't freak out, everyone, the backup generator will kick in in a moment." One of the female rangers said in the darkness. Sure enough, the generator turned on, but the lights were much much dimmer. "Okay everyone, get your gear on, with this bad of a storm there are bound to be people and pokemon stranded on the routes." 

Jordan and Titus looked to each other, both of them thinking about Brooke and her team. "Brooke is scared of thunder..." 

"Growllll..." Titus replied, realization coming into his eyes. Jordan stood and grabbed his jacket from his chair. "She knows there's thunder, and her pokemon will help comfort her. Come on, Titus, let's go get ready for bed." He and Titus walked to their room and began settling in, but when Jordan saw something shiny on the floor under the bed he paused. Titus went over and picked it up, giving it to Jordan. "It's Brooke's necklace..." 

"Growl?" 

"This used to be her mother's... It's all they found when..." He trailed off and thought for a moment. He bundled the necklace in his fist and shoved it into a secure pocket of his jacket. "Come on, Titus, we're going after her." He barked, happy and determined. "You know her scent well enough, you can find her, can't you?" 

"Growlithe! Growl!" 

"Good boy, let's go." They both raced out of the ranger base, but were stopped. "Where are you going in this storm, Jordan?" One of the rangers called as she stepped into one of the jeeps. "It's Brooke!" He shouted over the storm "I need to find her! She can't stand thunder!" 

"Get in the jeep! We'll find her!" He and Titus ran over and hopped in the back. "Where is she?" A ranger asked as he turned the key. "Somewhere between here and Berg City. If we stay on the path we should find her." The jeep sped off North towards the city 

Brooke held her jacket over her head as the rain poured down around her, but the further she went, the harder it was to go on. And the thunder wasn't helping. 

Suddenly, Lukas fell beside her into the mud. "Lukas!" She knelt down and picked him up in her arms. He was fading fast, and they were still a ways out from Berg City. "Come on, buddy, hang in there for me!" But he still didn't wake up. "Come...on..." She began to feel exhausted, so much so that she could hardly stay awake. "Luuuurrrreee...." Her eyes went wide and she looked behind her to see a Chandelure looming behind her. That's why she was so tired, this pokemon was sucking out all her energy. As she looked into the ghost type's eyes she was paralyzed with fear and couldn't even move. Her pokemon must have sensed this since Sophia's and Oshima's pokeballs opened automatically and they stood in front of her, and began to fight off the wild pokemon. 

Then another attacker entered the mix, a dark pulse attacked the ghost type. Brooke looked over to where it was coming from she saw a muddy jeep with a Krookodile standing beside it, ready to attack the Chandelure. Brooke noticed a figure running from the jeep over to her. "Brookie! Brookie! Are you okay?" 

"...Jordan?" 

"Thank Arceus you're okay. Come on, we're gonna get you to a pokemon center." 

"Jordan..." She held up Lukas a bit to show her friend that he was unconscious. "We'll get you both to Berg City. Come on." He picked her up in his arms and placed her in the jeep, her team members hopped in with her and the jeep zipped off through the muddy roads to the city.


	13. Never Going to Leave You

Brooke groaned as she opened her eyes. The light of whatever room she was in was blinding. Once her eyes began to adjust she looked around and realized she was in a Pokemon Center hospital room. Oshima and Sophia were curled up together at her feet. "Brooke?" She looked over and noticed Jordan was sitting near the window. "Jordan?" He rushed over to her bedside. Oshima and Sophia noticed she was awake as well and rushed up the bed to sit on her lap. "Thank goodness you're okay! I was so worried about you." 

"What...happened?" 

"You were on your way here to Berg City and I guess a Chandelure was following you and by the time I caught up with you you and Lukas were almost goners." 

"Is he okay?" 

"Lukas is in another room, he's going to be awake soon. He's a bit smaller than you, so it'll just be a little while longer until he wakes up." 

"But he is going to be okay?" her friend smiled reassuringly "He'll be just fine, don't worry." There was a silence that hung in the air, the donphan in the room was hovering over them. "Listen, Jordan... about the fight we had." 

"Don't worry about it, Brooke. That's behind us." 

"I just want to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been rushing everyone to get to the next gym. Your journey isn't any less important than mine." 

"It's okay, Brookie. I shouldn't have accused you of being so selfish. I know you want to become champion for yourself, not to show up my sister." 

"I forgive you, Jordan." She smiled at him. "Oh, that reminds me!" He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the sea glass necklace. Brooklyn immediately reached her hand to her neck to check if it was her necklace. "When'd I lose that!?" 

"You left it in the room at the ranger base. Good thing I found it, I know how much this means to you." He held it out to her, the metal of the wire decoration around the glass reflected the light of the room. "Thank you, Jordan." She took it carefully and wrapped it around her neck, a feeling of security washed through her. 

"I'll go tell the nurse that you're awake, wait right here." 

"As if I'm going anywhere." He chuckled and left the room with Titus, leaving her there with Oshima and Sophia. She pet them and they nuzzled her, happy to see that she was okay. "Thank you both for fighting that Chandelure. I'm sorry I got so frightened that I couldn't give you any direction." 

"Quiiiilaaa." Oshima smiled at her and licked her face and Brooke laughed. "You always know how to make me feel better, Oshima." 

"Do you think you both could go check on Lukas for me? Let me know how he's doing." They both nodded and jumped off the bed, running through the automatic door and down the hall. 

Brooke lay back on the bed for only a moment before the door slid open. She looked up and was surprised to see her father and Theo running in. "Dad? Theo?" 

"Brooke! We came as soon as we heard what happened, are you okay?" They stood on either side of the bed, looking at her frightened. "I'm fine now, thank you. I'm more worried about Lukas. He hasn't woken up yet." She looked down at her hands. "It was all my fault. I shouldn't have gone out in the thunderstorm like that. And when I saw that chandelure I just froze, I couldn't do anything." 

"Brooklyn, this is not your fault." Her father placed a hand on her shoulder. "You had no idea that pokemon'd be out there." 

"I....I know, but what if something else had happened, or if Jordan hadn't come after me..." 

"Don't think about this now, Brooke, you're okay. Lukas will be awake soon, that's all that matters." Suddenly Lola and Elliot jumped up onto the bed to see her. "Hey you two! I've missed you!" 

"Jooolllt!" 

"Espeeeon!" They nuzzled her happily. "I have two gym badges now, Dad." 

"I know, Jordan filled us both in while we were waiting for you to wake up." 

"We're really proud of you, Brooke. And beating Team Sapphire again, and inviting that Buizel, Sophia, onto your team was great too." Theo chimed in, a wide smile on his face. "Thank you two for being here." 

"Of coarse, we weren't going to just sit at home and wait to hear from you. Knowing you, that would take years." Her brother teased and Brooke laughed. "Not true!" 

"True! You're the worst at calling us, Brooke." 

"Says you. When you went to the month long camp that Professor Juniper was hosting we didn't hear from you until about a week before it ended." 

"Well... okay you got me on that one." Brooke laughed. "Theo, why don't you and Lola go check up on Lukas? See if he's awake yet." 

"Sure thing, Dad. Later, loser." Theo teased Brooke and she stuck her tongue out at him as he left. "Brooklyn?" 

"Huh? Yes Dad?" 

"Are you sure you're okay? You can come home if you need to." 

"I don't need to come home, Dad, I'll be--" She cut herself off when she noticed the frown on her father's face, and the deep worry in his bright green eyes. "Dad? Are you okay?" 

"I'm sorry, Brooke. But just... the chandelure and... your mother..." Brooke frowned as well. Her father never liked talking about her mother, so she knew he was really serious. He chuckled halfheartedly, "You have her eyes. You remind me so much of her." There was a silence. "If she were here she would be so proud of you." 

"Dad..." He was snapped out of his trance and his eyes refocused on her. "I'm gonna be okay. I promise. I'm not going to be that careless again. Okay?" She placed her hand on his and locked her bright blue eyes with his green. "I swear. I'm never going to leave you like that." He smiled again and the tears vanished from his eyes. "I know."


	14. The Salon

It's been two days since Brooke woke up in the hospital, she was cleared to be released so her brother and father had gone back to Playa Town, but Lukas still hadn't woken up, and Brooke was getting impatient, spending every day at his bedside while he recovered. 

It was early in the morning when Jordan found Brooke sitting next to Lukas, just staring at him. "Brooke?" 

"Hm?" She replied lazily, not taking her eyes off her partner. "Are you okay?" 

"I will be once Lukas wakes up." 

"Brooke, I know you're worried about him, I am too, but you need to get some good rest. This restlessness isn't good for you." 

"I just, can't sleep, Jordan. I can't do anything until he wakes up." 

"Well, you know, a watched pot never boils." She looked up at him through unamused eyes and he frowned. "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood. Come on, Professor Pine sent me a message, there's someone he wants us to meet with in the lobby." 

"You go on ahead." 

"Brooklyn. Come on." 

"What if he wakes up and I'm not here?" 

"Then Nurse Joy will make sure he's comfortable. Come on." He yanked her arm and pulled her out of her chair, and she followed him out reluctantly. 

Jordan led the way to the front desk. "Hello Nurse Joy!" 

"Hello! Can I help you?" 

"Yes, we're looking for someone named Alex? She should be here." 

"That'd be me." A Kalosian accent cut in and the two trainers spun around. They saw a woman who looked to be in her mid to late twenties. She had tan skin and long dark brown hair. She wore a red cap with a black stripe and white sunglasses, a black tank top with a cute collar and a high waisted red skirt, black thigh high stockings and black sneakers. "You two must be Jordan and Brooke, right?" 

They were both frozen for a moment. "You're the Maroh Champion!" Jordan blurted out after a moment. She just laughed. "I guess the Professor didn't tell you two you were meeting me, huh?" They both shook their heads. "As both of you know, I'm Alex Pierre. This is my partner, December." She gestured down to an Absol, who had a silver ornate band around the crest on the side of her head with an absolite in it. "I'm Brooke Areca and this--" She cut herself off when she realized she was about to introduce her partner. "--this is my best friend, Jordan, and his partner, Titus." 

"Yeah, the professor told me that your partner is here in the hospital, so sorry to hear that." ALex frowned sympathetically at Brooke. "Anyway, there's something important we need to discuss. Come with me." She lead them to a table near a window overlooking the street. "Do you two see the pokemon boutique behind me?" They each looked around either side of her and saw the blue boutique with a "Grand Opening" banner out front. "Yeah, what about it?" 

"It's a front for thieves stealing pokemon." They both looked back to her. "What? It is?" 

"Opened by Team Sapphire. People drop their pokemon off there and they're being carted off." 

"If they just opened, how do you know about this?" 

"We got a tip a little while ago. When I went over to check it out we saw that in the back of the shop all of the pokemon are held in cages with labels of when they're being shipped off." 

"A tip? From who?" Jordan asked. "Not sure. It was anonymous. They said they were risking their life and the lives of their pokemon just by calling. I personally assume it's a Team Sapphire member, but there's no way to be sure." 

"Huh..." 

"Anyway, Professor Pine wants us to go in there and close up shop for them." she winked, "Catch my meaning?" 

"What, now?" 

"Well the pokemon are being sent out tonight. So yeah. Can you guys be ready?" 

"Well what's the plan?" Jordan asked, stealing another glance at the salon. "I'm so glad you asked, Jordan." She pulled out a floor plan of the salon. 

An hour or so later the three of them approached the salon, Jordan going in first to snoop around in the front of the shop, while the two girls went around back to sneak in. But as Brooke walked over, she felt the absence of her partner. "Okay, let's get in there." Alex nodded to December and Brooke released Sophia. 

Once December took care of the guard outside, they were clear to go in. The walls were cold and gray and nothing about the place looked like it could be a salon.

They found a back room that required a code to get in. "December, you use flamethrower." The move gradually melted the lock on the door and it swung open. They stepped in the doorway and saw that the whole room was floor to ceiling in pokemon cages. "Oh my god..." 

"We found them." 

"HEY!" They both whipped around to see three grunts standing there, glaring at them. "What are you two doing here!?" 

"Brats like you aren't allowed to be here." 

"Poliwrath, use hypnosis!" The poliwrath used the psychic type move and everything turned black. 

Brooke woke up later, but realized something was off when she couldn't move. She looked down at herself and saw that her arms and ankles were bound in rope. The room she was in was dark except for the very dim light coming from a lamp. Alex, and Jordan were also bound up, but were waking up slowly just like she was. Brooke carefully looked around as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, looking for a way out. 

After a few minutes she was starting to lose hope, but suddenly the door opened and a lone Team Sapphire grunt walked in. "What do you want?" Brooke spat as he walked up to her. He didn't reply, but crouched beside her. Brooklyn scooted back a little, confused. He released an Alolan Sandshrew who powered up a metal claw. Brooke's heart beat faster and harder, panic filling her body as she realized the pokemon was going to use the move on her. She shut her eyes tight and prepared for the impact

When the sandshrew sliced downwards, and she felt no pain, she opened her eyes and saw the ropes torn up on the floor around her, freeing her arms and legs. She looked back up at the Team Sapphire grunt and their eyes locked. Without a word he turned and freed Alex and Jordan as well. He beckoned the confused trainers towards the door and motioned for them to be silent. He peered out the opening to make sure they were clear and led them quietly through the hallways to the room where all the pokemon were being held, Team Sapphire grunts fast asleep on the floor. He handed Brooke a card key, nodded, then ran off. 

The trainers all exchanged a look, none of them knowing what had just happened, but the figured out the key unlocked all the cages. All at once the pokemon ran out of the room and towards the exit of the salon. And they found all their pokeballs in cases on a table. 

"I've messaged Officer Jenny. She'll be here any moment to apprehend these Team Sapphire members." Alex said once all the pokemon had left. 

"Who was that grunt who let us go?" 

"No idea." 

"He could have been the one who sent in the tip." 

"You think so?" 

"It makes sense, doesn't it?" 

"I think he was the one I battled in Colina Town..." Brooke said thoughtfully. "Really? What are the chances of seeing him again after battling them there?" 

"Yeah... I've never seen another Team Sapphire member with an Alolan Sandshrew. And both of them know metal claw. I think they were the same one." 

"Interesting..." 

"Anyway, we should be getting back to the Pokemon Center. I need to see if Lukas has woken up yet." 

The three of them arrived back at the Pokemon Center and Brooke rushed up to the front desk. "Hello Brooke! I have some good news!" Nurse Joy smiled. "You do?" 

"Lukas has woken up! He's waiting for you in his room." She hardly finished her sentence before Brooke raced down the hall to her partner's room. 

The sliding door opened and the eevee's little head perked up. "Eevee!" He smiled when he saw her. Brooklyn darted across the room and hugged her partner tightly. "Lukas! I was so so worried about you! I'm so glad you're awake!" 

"Eeeee!" He squealed happily and nuzzled her cheek. 

"She and Lukas are really close, aren't they?" Alex said, a soft smile on her face as she and December watched the two from the other side of the viewing glass, Jordan and Titus beside them. "They have been since Brooke took him home. She rescued him from the streets when she was only eight. They spend every moment together, waking and sleeping." 

"Does he have a pokeball?" 

"I assume so." Jordan laughed. "I've never seen it. I don't think she even carries it with her." 

"She's a very unique trainer..." 

"Yeah, she is..."


	15. Fuego

Jordan and Brooke arrived in the Pokemon Center lobby on their way to go challenge the gym a day after the Team Sapphire incident. "Hey, there's Alex and Professor Pine!" 

"Huh?" Brooke looked up and saw the champion talking with the Professor. "Let's go say hello!" Jordan walked over to them before Brooke had a chance to reply. The two adults noticed the teenagers and smiled. "Brooklyn! Jordan! Just the people I wanted to see. Congratulations on successfully dealing with Team Sapphire yesterday." 

"Thanks, Professor. It was nothing, really." Brooke smiled and put Lukas' cheek as she talked. "Oh! And I see Lukas is doing better, that's nice to see." 

"Yeah! I was really worried about him. Anyway, is there a special reason you're here? Other than to congratulate us." 

"Yes, actually. Come with me." He led the three trainers outside to a car that was parked on the side of the road. He opened the back door and opened a silver hardcover briefcase. Inside, delicately, yet firmly, placed was a pokemon egg. Gingerly, the Professor lifted it out and cradled it in his arms. It was all blue except for a pale yellow underside and a light gray rugged design on top. "An egg?" 

"Alex, could you grab the case for me, please?" The Champion nodded and got a yellow egg case from the car. "Brooklyn, I'd like for you to care for this egg." 

"Me?" 

"This pokemon will need a good trainer to take care of it, and I think it should be you." He placed the egg in her arms and Brooke ran her hands over the warm surface of the egg, feeling the texture of the shell on her palm. "Can I count on you?" 

"Of coarse, Professor. Uh- What kind of pokemon is it?" 

"You'll have to find that out for yourself. If you take good care of it, it'll hatch soon and you'll be able to train it up from a baby." Alex held the egg case steady as Brooke placed it inside the incubator. "I'll take very good care of it, thank you, Professor." 

"Brooke," Alex gained her attention. "Yes?" 

"You're going to challenge Fuego, aren't you?" 

"I am, yeah." 

"Mind if I come along and watch?" Brooke smiled. The Maroh Champion wanted to watch her gym battle. "Yeah! Of coarse you can come along!" 

"Great, then let's get going. Fuego can get a little impatient." 

"Let's not keep him waiting, then!" Brooke smiled excitedly and hugged the incubator to her chest and left the building with Jordan and Alex. 

They approached the gym, which was mostly a cement building with windows and doors of yellow, orange, and red stained glass. They made their way to the front doors and Brooke pushed them open with her shoulder. The arena was dark, except for the spotlight on the challengers' podium. "Here, take the egg." She handed the case off to Jordan who went off to the sidelines with Alex. 

She and Lukas walked up to the challengers' stand. "So. I have a challenger, hmm?" A male voice echoed through the stadium. Suddenly four flame pillars burst up from each corner of the stadium, illuminating the silhouette of the gym leader, and many fans in the front few rows. "Then let's get moving, shall we?" The roof suddenly revealed itself to be a sunroof and the afternoon sun lit up the whole stadium. Fuego was a tan, slender man with dark red hair. He wore a pair of bright red dancers tights and a loose white shirt made of a light fabric. "What's your name, challenger?" 

"Brooke." 

"Well, Brooke, what do you say we get this battle started?" 

"I would like nothing more." She smirked. "This will be a three on three battle! First to run out of able pokemon will be the loser! Now, release your first pokemon!" The ref shouted and Fuego reached behind his back and pulled out a pokeball. With an elegant dance move he released his first pokemon. "Magmar! You're the opening act!" He released the fire type and Brooke threw out her pokeball. "Sophia! You're up!" 

"A water type huh? How predictable." 

"Battle begin!" 

"Start off with water sport!" Sophia covered the field in a bit of water, making fire attacks less powerful. "Haha! I'm liking where this is going, Magmar! Use smokescreen!" A thick cloud of smoke covered the battlefield. "Now flame burst!" From inside the smoke she heard the water type complain. "Sophia! Get that smoke out of here with your tail!" Sophia propelled he tail to clear away all the smoke. "Now water gun!" It was a direct hit. "Wonderful, Sophia! Swift!" 

"Magmar, use flame burst!" 

"Water gun! One last time!" another hit and Magmar went down. "You put on a good show, Magmar." Fuego praised as he returned his pokemon. "Time for the main act! Go Ivan!" He threw out another pokeball and released a Simisear. "Water gun, Sophia!" 

"Incinerate, Ivan!" 

"Use water gun again!" 

"Solar beam!" Brooke paused. "Solar beam? But Simisear is a fire type pokemon." 

"Pretty neat that Simisear can learn solar beam right? It's a bit of insurance I have in case any trainers like yourself think you can beat me with just a water type." 

The solar beam hit Sophia and she went down. "Great job, Sophia, return." She called back her pokemon and knew just who she'd release next. 

"Ready, Lukas?" He smirked and nodded "Eeveee!" 

"Let's show him what we've got then!" She pointed out to the field and the normal type raced out, ready to face the opponent. "Use swift!" 

"Fire blast!" 

"Bite!" 

"Dodge it!" Ivan stepped out of the way, but that didn't stop Lukas. He spun on his heels and attacked the Simisear from behind. "Great job, Lukas!" 

"Fire blast, Ivan!" Lukas became burned and cringed as beads of sweat fell down his forehead. "Bite!" the simisear bit hard on Lukas, since the burn made it hard for him to dodge. "Refresh, Lukas!" He healed himself of the burn and returned to his energetic self. "Finish it off with swift!" The attack was successful and the simisear fainted. "Two down, one to go! Great job, Lukas!" 

"Eevee!!" 

"Here's the final act! I'm counting on you, Ninetales!" 

"Ninetales, confuse ray!" Lukas became confused. "Lukas! Hang with me, buddy, come on!" 

"Eeeeevv....." 

"Use bite!" 

"Quick attack, Ninetales!" 

"Swift, Lukas!" 

"Roar!" Lukas instantly stopped himself in fear and was forced back to Brooke's side, and out came Oshima. Fuego cackled. "I thought we'd mix things up a bit." Brooke was becoming frustrated. "Okay then. If it's a fire type match you want, it's a fire type match you'll get! Use smokescreen!" The field was covered in smoke. "Flame wheel, Oshima!" 

"Quick attack, ninetales!" 

"Dodge it and use quick attack too!" Since she only heard Ninetales complain, she knew Oshima didn't get hit. "Great work, buddy! Now use quick attack one more time!" It hit and Ninetales went down. "We did it!" 

"Quiiii!" 

"My precious Ninetales!" Fuego shrieked as he returned his last pokemon and Brooke and Lukas rushed off the challengers' stand and she hugged Oshima. "Great job, Oshima! You did it!" 

"Quiiiilava!" He smiled and nuzzled Brooke's face happily. She looked up and Jordan and Alex were walking across the field towards her. "Great job, Brookie! I knew you'd win!" 

"Thanks Jordan! It was really all Lukas, Oshima, and Sophia though." 

"Hey kid!" She turned and saw Fuego behind her, a scowl on his face. "Here's your badge." He handed her an open red jewelry box that had a pokemon badge in the shape of a flaming torch. "It's the torch badge." She took the badge out of the box and placed it in her case. "Oh! Alex! You're here!" 

"Hello Fuego. Is that how you congratulate all your challengers when they beat you?" 

"I-I uh-- no. I was just kidding!" He laughed nervously. "Congratulations Brooke! Do you uh-- know where you're headed next?" 

"No, I don't." She replied, a small smirk on her face at how nervous he was. "I would recommend Prirak in Pintar Town. He's a wonderful ghost type trainer." 

"Thank you, Fuego." He nodded to the three of them and they left to heal up at the pokemon center and prepare to move on tomorrow.


	16. Luxio and the Pyroar Invasion

Brooke and Jordan were en route to Dandelion Town and were passing through a dense forest. Brooke was letting Jordan carry the pokemon egg while she examined the map. Suddenly she stopped in the middle of the path. 

"What is it?" Jordan asked and looked over at her. She didn't reply and just flipped the map over to examine it, making Jordan sigh. "Oh no." 

"I'm not lost." She countered before he could get it out. "Yes you are. You got us lost." 

"I did not! We're just a little....off the path." 

"Oh my goodness, Brookie. Give me the map." He snatched the map from her hands and handed her the egg. "I should've remembered your awful sense of direction." He teased as he began to figure out the map. 

"Not my fault. I never have any practice with it." 

"Well good thing I'm here. Honestly, Brookie, you can be a bit hopeless." 

"Hopeless?" 

"Yes!" He laughed. "You can be so oblivious at times, I never understood how you--" 

"Shh!" 

"What? What are you--" 

"SHHHHHH!" She silenced him more aggressively and whispered. "Do you hear that?" 

"Hear what?" 

"Rustling..." 

They were quiet for a moment.

Suddenly a tall skinny man in a pokemon ranger uniform and a persian with a green bandana entered the clearing and noticed the way Jordan was holding the map. "Are you two lost?" 

"N--" 

"Yes." Jordan interrupted her. "It's getting late, where are you two headed at this hour?" He asked them, noticing the sun starting to set. "We're going to Maskros Town." 

"Wow, you two are really lost if you're headed that way." He laughed and Jordan shot a pointed look at Brooke. "Why don't you two come stay at my cabin. It's not a great idea to be out here late at night anyway." 

"Why not?" 

"Come on, I'll explain as we walk." He began to lead the way through the brush, drifting away from the path. "See, this forest is densely populated by feline pokemon. You know, like persion, liepard, and such. These pokemon are very territorial and have a tendency to attack people passing through their territory. That's why I volunteered to be stationed here and help people passing through." They arrived at a small wooden cabin in a large clearing and he led the two trainers inside. There was a small kitchen and table off the the left, a living area straight ahead and two doors, which were a bathroom and a closet, and a bed was against the wall over to the right. 

"So do the pokemon often fight with each other?" Jordan asked, helping the ranger get blankets and pillows out of the closet and set them on the couches. He sighed. "I try to keep them all in check with each other, but lately the Luxray pride and the Pyroar pride have been quarreling over some territory. I'm worried some of them may get hurt." He answered as Brooke and Jordan settled in on the couches as the ranger started cooking something in the kitchen. "My name is Jared by the way. That persian there is my partner Tolken." 

"I'm Jordan, and this is Titus." He gestured to his partner who was already settling in to sleep on the pillow. "And I'm Brooke, this is Lukas." 

"It's nice to meet you all. Most people go to Nebulosa Town after battling Fuego in Berg City. Why are you guys heading straight for Maskros Town?" Jared asked them as they settled in to eat. "Fuego and Alex thought it'd be a better idea for us to go through there first and challenge the gym leader in Pintar Town instead." 

"Alex? Like the Maroh Champion?" His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Yeah! Professor Pine introduced us to her. We met her in Berg City for the first time." 

"Lucky you two!" 

"Do you know much about the gym leader in Pintar Town?" both Jordan and Jared chuckled. "You're new to the region, aren't you?" Jared asked. "I am. What does that have anything to do with it? What's so funny?" 

"Well, Prizak, aside from being a powerful ghost type trainer, is one of the most popular gym leaders amongst the gossip magazines. He's infamous for having a different girl on his arm every week." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah. He's a total ladies man. A lot of girls go to challenge the gym there just so they have a chance to meet him." 

"How long has he been a gym leader there?" 

"Not too long. Only a couple years. He's about nineteen right now." 

"Well I can safely say that when I go to challenge him I won't be--" She was cut off by a scratching at the door. "Oh boy..." Jared stood and rushed over to the door, when he opened it there was a battle worn and tattered looking luxio standing there. "Luxio!" Jared looked horrified and picked up the spark pokemon in his arms, rushing him over to his nursing station. "What happened!?" Jordan and Brooke ran over to help Jared. "The pyroar pride must have attacked the electric pride again." 

A while later, after Luxio was healed up and falling asleep on a makeshift bed on the floor, Jared was preparing for bed. "Is that Luxio your pokemon?" 

"No. He's a wild Luxray. Although he does come over here to get me when his pride is fighting with another one, usually the pyroars and litleos." 

"So what happened to him to get him hurt like that?" 

"I don't know... there must have been a battle. And if he's here I'm guessing he and his pride lost. They may have been driven out of their territory."

"What? That's awful!" 

"Tomorrow, once Luxio is healed, we'll go back and help them get their territory back. You two will be well on your way to Maskros Town by then." 

"No way, we're not leaving until we help Luxio get his territory back." Luxio looked up at her, not so worried about falling asleep anymore. 

"Well, we should get some sleep if we're going to help Luxio tomorrow." Jared smiled and flicked off the light.


	17. Burning Up

The next afternoon the trainers were picking berries in some small trees near the cottage. "How long have you two been traveling together?" Jared asked. "Considering that Brooke is new to Maroh and all." 

"Well we actually grew up together, but I moved here when I was thirteen, and Brooke moved here about a month and a half ago." 

"Really? Where are you two from?" 

"Castelia City in the Unova region." 

"That's so cool! I've never known anyone from Unova before." 

"It's alright. Although I am liking Maroh a lot. Around this time of year its winding down the cold season." 

"Oh yeah, Unova is a lot colder than Maroh, I always forget that." Jared chuckled. He looked past Brooke and Jordan and saw Luxio exiting the cabin. "Luxio! You're awake!" The electric type just looked up at them. "Are you feeling ready to take back your home?" His tail wagged a bit, showing he was. This pokemon really was the silent type. "Why don't you go get your pride together and come back here when you're ready." He nodded, and as he was leaving he exchanged a quick look with Brooke before running off. 

"So how long have you known Luxio?" Brooke asked. "Since I moved here, really. Before I came here these pokemon were fighting left and right, terrorizing travelers. So the rangers sent out a group to come here and help regulate them. Since then all the others have transferred out and since I'm the only one who really grew a connection with these pokemon, I'm the only one who wants to stay." 

"You don't get lonely out here?" 

"No, not really. It's nice to be out here in nature and spend time with pokemon. And I usually go into Berg City when I need to get more supplies and things like that." 

"Speaking of supplies is you cabin air conditioned? It's boiling out here." She breathed, taking off her black windbreaker and hanging it on the doorknob of the front door. Jared chuckled. "Yes it is, we can cool down after we help Luxio." 

Shortly after Luxio came back to them. "Are you ready, Luxio?" The electric type nodded, determined to reclaim his home. "Come on, then. Let's go." Jared and Luxio raced through the forest with Brooke, Jordan, and their partners following close behind. 

As the sun set the trainers marched into the clearing where the battle between the luxray pride and the pyroar pride had already started. Shinx, luxio, and luxray battled together alongside litleo and pyroar, sending their attacks in every direction, their roars echoing around the forest. "Okay! Let's go in!" Jared tossed out two pokeballs, releasing his partner and a glameow. Jordan got the same idea and sent out his team: Titus, Hugo, and Rip and raced off to battle away the fire type pokemon. Brooke opened her pokeballs as well, releasing Sophia and Oshima. "Lets help out these electric types, huh?" Her pokemon nodded. "Oshima and Sophia, you're on your own. Watch out for each other, okay?" 

"Lukas, you're with me! Let's go." He nodded, his brown eyes full of spirit and determination. "Use iron tail!" He slammed his tail right into a litleo and sent it racing. "Now use bite on that one!" 

"Keep attacking until they run away!" She smiled seeing the way he was fighting, he really had gotten much stronger since they started their journey. Suddenly out of the corner of her eye she spotted Luxio fighting off a couple of litleo, and a large pyroar was sneaking up behind him and looked like it was preparing a powerful attack. "Luxio! Look out!" She charged forward and blocked the powerful flamethrower attack. Her sudden intrusion into their battle caught the female pyroar off guard and threw off the aim, sending the flames directly on her right arm. "AAAHHHHHHH!!" She screamed out in pain as the heat coursed through her. She fell to the ground, her face twisted in a grimace. Through the tears she saw Lukas jump in between her and the pyroar. He started to glow brightly and changed shape. 

His ears and tail became thinner and longer and his legs became longer. The fur around his neck smoothed out. His fur became darker and little rings appeared on his head, shoulders, rump, ears, and tail. 

The glowing stopped and Lukas had evolved into an umbreon. "Lukas..." Brooke murmured through the pain. "You evolved...." He charged at the pyroar and bit down with all his might, sending the fire type racing. 

Meanwhile Jordan was fighting with Rip when he heard someone scream from the other side of the clearing. His eyes went wide and his heart stopped in his chest. "Brooke..." He ran through the battle, dodging attacks until he saw her kneeling on the ground, clutching her right arm which was bright red and an umbreon looking at her concerned, and Luxio at her back, scaring off any pokemon who dared come close. "Brooke!" He knelt down in front of her and noticed her arm was bright red. "Oh my goodness, what happened? Are you okay?" 

"Pyroar....flamethrower...." was all she could muster out, letting Jordan put the pieces together. He tried to get a look at her arm, but the way she was clutching it didn't let him get a very good look at it. While he was distracted she fell against him. "Brooke!?" He looked down at her limp body, she must have passed out from the pain. "I have to get her somewhere safe, so she doesn't get hurt again." He thought to himself and picked her up gently, careful not to irritate her burn. He hurried her from the clearing and set her down against a tree, with Lukas--now an umbreon--, Brooke's other pokemon, Luxio standing beside her. "You two are gonna stay here and watch over her?" They nodded. "Sophia, you should use water gun lightly on her burn to help her." She stepped over to her trainer and began washing her arm lightly.

Brooke woke up much later in Jared's cottage. She looked around and saw Jared and Jordan preparing some bandages over in the kitchen with the pokemon anxiously hanging around. When she tried to sit up she groaned loudly. Jordan rushed over to her side. "Brooke! You shouldn't try to move around too much. You shouldn't put too much pressure on your arm." She nodded and allowed Jordan to help her lay back down. Her team jumped up onto the bed to sit next to her and she smiled at them. "Hi you guys." 

"..zel? buizel? buiz buiz el?" Sophia held onto Brooke's right wrist in a comforting manner and Brooke used her non-burned arm to pet her head. "I'll be fine, Sophia. Don't worry." Her pokemon didn't look much better, but they smiled anyway. She looked over and caught Lukas' red eyes and smiled. "Hey there, buddy." 

"Umbre..." He stepped closer to her until he was within petting range. "I love you too." She ran her hand along his head and neck as Jared wrapped some bandages around her right arm. "So what's the verdict, doctor?" She asked, half joking. "Well once you get to Maskros Town I would get that checked out by a real doctor, these bandages and my homemade medicine is only so good. I'm fairly certain that no matter how much medicine you have you'll have a scar there. That pyroar that attacked you was especially powerful and most likely one of the pride leaders. You'll want to get going as soon as possible tomorrow morning so you can make it to the town quickly." Brooke nodded in understanding and looked down at the bandages. "So I'll have this for the rest of my life?" 

"I believe so, again, I would go to a professional." 

Brooke took a deep breath, not thrilled about the information. To distract herself she looked around the room and noticed Luxio sitting in a window, watching the rain falling outside. "Hey Luxio." He looked over at her. "Are you okay? That flamethrower didn't get you too bad, did it?" There was a flash of surprise in his golden eyes and he shook his head. "Good. And what about your pride? Did they get their territory back?" He nodded again and Brooke smiled. "Now you can have your home back." 

"Luxio stayed with you while you were passed out. He wanted to help defend you."

"Really? Thank you, Luxio, I appreciate that!" 

"Lux..." 

"He doesn't talk much, does he?" 

"No, he never has. He doesn't warm up easily to people, but he seems to like you, Brooke." 

"Really? You think so?" 

"Yeah." 

"You should be getting to sleep, Brooke. You'll need your energy if we're going to make it to Maskros Town tomorrow." 

She nodded and lay down, settling in for sleep. 

The next morning she woke to Lukas gently poking her awake. She sat up groggily. "Okay, I'm up, buddy." She reached up to rub her eyes, but had forgotten about her burn and the sudden movement sent pain through her arm, making her breathe in sharply. "Ohhhh...." 

"You okay?" Jordan asked, walking over with some fresh bandages. "I'm fine. I just forgot about the burn." He nodded. "I'm sorry, Brooke. Jared is fastening a sling together so you don't try to move it around too much and hurt yourself." She nodded. "And we should probably call your Dad as soon as we get you checked out by a doctor." 

"Yeah. Are we ready to go? I need to get some pain meds, this ibuprofen is not cutting it." 

"Yep, we can go. I packed up your things in your bag already." Pushing up with her left arm. 

They left the small cabin with Jared and Jordan. "It was nice meeting you two, I'm so sorry about your arm, Brooke." 

"Don't give it another thought, Jared. It wasn't your fault. You continue taking good care of these pokemon, okay?" He smiled. "I will. And Jordan." 

"Yeah?" 

"If you ever need a rec letter for getting into the ranger academy, let me know, okay?" Jordan chuckled. "Will do." 

"Good luck getting to Maskros Town. Jordan, you know which way to go, don't you?" 

"I do. I think I learned my lesson from letting Brooke lead the way." Brooke was about to retaliate when Luxio rushed through the bushes into the clearing. "Oh! Luxio! Is everything okay? Is there trouble in your pride?" The electric type shook his head and looked up at Brooke, walking over to her feet and sitting down. As soon as they made eye contact Brooke smiled. "I see..." She reached to her bag and pulled out a pokeball, tossing it to Luxio who touched the button with his nose. 

She picked up the pokeball and released him again, kneeling down so she was closer to eye level. "Welcome to the team!" 

"Lux! Luxio!" He smiled ever so slightly. "How about I call you something other than Luxio....I'll name you....." She thought for a moment. "Solomon. How does that sound?" 

"Lux!" 

"All right!" Brooke smiled and stood back up, allowing Solomon to walk out of his pokeball for now. "I guess I'll need someone else to tell me when things are going down in the forest, huh, Lu--Solomon." Jared smiled. "I'm glad you're finding a home with Brooke. I think you two will make a great team." 

"Thank you Jared, I'll call you with updates on Solomon now and then, okay?"

"Sounds good! You all get along now, you're losing daylight." Jared bid them farewell and the trainers made their way east to Maskros Town.


	18. The Maroh Bardaga!

Brooke and Jordan arrived in Maskros Town at around noon and led Brooke right to the pokemon center to get her arm checked out by a real doctor. They told her to apply an antibiotic cream to the burn a couple times every morning and night for about a month or so and to take some pain meds when it got too bad, and to keep it bandaged to avoid irritation. She was now at the phones calling her dad. 

Her father answered the phone and smiled at her. "Hi Brooklyn! What's going on? I see you're in Maskros Town now." She licked her lips hesitantly, unsure how to begin. He noticed her pause and his eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?" 

"Is Theo there?" 

"Yeah. Do you want me to get him?" Brooke nodded and her father left for a moment to retrieve her older brother. 

He returned with her brother and they both looked at her concerned. "What's going on, sis?" 

"Okay. Um-- Everyone's fine--" 

"What happened?" 

"So long story short I was helping a luxio and his pride take back his territory from some pyroar and litleo, and a pyroar was about to attack him, so I stepped in the way and the pyroar used flamethrower on my arm--" 

"WHAT!?" 

"Are you okay!?" They looked at her, shocked and a bit frightened. "I'll be just fine. I was just in the doctor's office. He gave me something to rub on the burn, some more bandages and gauze and some pain medication." 

"How bad is it?" 

"It's a--uh--second degree burn. It's going to leave a scar." 

"Do you need us to come over there?" 

"No! No, that's fine. You don't have to." 

"Are you sure?" 

"I'll be fine. Jordan is gonna help me keep track of when to apply the antibiotics and change my bandages." 

Brooke continued to reassure her family for a while until she made up an excuse that she had to go. 

She found Jordan sitting watching the pokemon play out in the lobby. "How'd it go?" He asked as she slumped down beside him. "Fine. They're worried about me. Most of the conversation was me telling them I'm going to be fine and they shouldn't worry about me." 

"That sounds about right." He chuckled. "Anyway, while you were on the phone I heard about a battle competition starting tomorrow, and I think it'd be a lot of fun! What do you think?" 

"A battle competition? Like the ones they had in Nimbasa City?" 

"Yeah! We're right at the right level for it." 

"Sounds good to me. When's registration happening?" 

"Now, it ends at eleven pm tonight." 

"Well what are we waiting for then?" She stood excitedly and returned her pokemon, running out the doors of the pokemon center with Lukas beside her. "Brookie! Wait for me! You don't know where it is!" Jordan frantically retrieved his pokemon and followed her. 

They arrived near the edge of town where a huge stadium was being prepared. Lots of people were milling about with their pokemon, and trainers were standing in line to sign up. "Wow! This is some big event, huh?" 

"Yeah, they host this competition here twice every year. Apparently everyone around here gets really excited for it." 

"Yeah, I guess it makes sense, for such a large city. Nimbasa's was about this--" She was interrupted by someone behind her. "Well, well, well, what have we here? An amateur trainer signing up for a battling competition? How cute." They turned and Brooke immediately snarled when she recognized Vanessa. "Oh look, it's the spoiled brat who's only on this journey because she begged Mommy to." 

"At least I'm no disappointment." Jordan's twin shot back at her. "I wouldn't make the argument that you aren't." Brooke crossed her arms and Lukas narrowed his eyes at Vanessa's mawile. "Hah. So your puny little partner finally evolved. Too bad he still can't beat my mawile." 

"Is that a challenge?" Brooke took a step closer to Vanessa, her fists clenched. "That's enough!" Jordan stepped in between them, pushing Brooke back a bit. "I think we just need to take a walk and cool down." Brooke scoffed, turned up her nose, and stormed off to get in a different line. "'Cool down' pah! I'm plenty cool. She's always the one who starts it." Brooke grumbled to herself. 

But after she was in line for a moment she did feel a bit guilty. Jordan must feel so torn. Between his twin sister and Brooke, who were constantly bickering. He never took sides. He was always there to break up their fight when he saw it was getting too far. Brooke was usually the one getting too fired up. 

"Ma'am! I'll register you now." She snapped out of her daze when it was her turn to register. Brooklyn stepped up to the counter and placed her trainer ID and her pokeballs. "Okay, Brooke. You and your pokemon are all set! Good luck tomorrow!" 

"Thank you." Brooke grabbed her things and left the area, checking her phone to see if there was anything from Jordan. There wasn't. 

Not sure what else to do Brooke found herself in a park with her pokemon. Watching them all play while she polished her egg. Sophia and Oshima were running around with Lukas while Solomon slept in the sun at her feet. "Pardon me, is this seat taken?" She looked over to see a boy about her height and age standing next to her with an Aron next to him. He had brown skin and a dark brown undercut with the top of his hair dyed white and pale blue eyes. "Go ahead." He sat down and looked over at her egg. "What a handsome egg you have." 

"Hm? Oh, thank you. I just got it a short while ago." 

"What kind of pokemon is it?"

"I don't know, Professor Pine didn't tell me." 

"You know Professor Pine?" 

"Yeah, he's the one who gave me my Quilava when I first started by journey." She nodded over to Oshima. "I'm Logan by the way. Logan Parker." She smiled and shook his hand. "Brooke Areca." 

"Are you in town for the Bardaga?" 

"Bardaga?" 

"Yeah the Bardaga, it's the battle competition in town." 

"Oh! Yes, I am, are you?" 

"Yep! I'm not much of a battler, but I figure it'll be fun." 

"Are you on your journey too?" 

"I am! I love travelling and competing in coordination contests." 

"Oh really? That's so cool! We never had many of those in my town growing up." 

"Yeah, the gym leader Agua has really been establishing a contest scene here in Maroh." 

"Oh, I'm not from Maroh." 

"Oh neither am I! Where are you from?" 

"Castelia City in Unova. What about you?" 

"I'm from Ecruteak City in Johto!" 

"Are there many contests around there?" 

"There weren't, but they're popping up here and there. My dream is to go to Hoenn or Kalos and compete there." 

"I didn't know that Agua was establishing contests here in Maroh." 

"Yeah! She loves to compete in them, but she usually puts more focus on her gym. She moved here when she heard there was an opening for a water type gym five years ago. And wanted to continue competing so she started hosting contests. However they're inspired by the ones in Kalos more than the ones in Hoenn." 

"And you compete in these?" 

"Yeah! I love being on stage with all my pokemon. Oh! This is my partner, Orval." He pointed to his Aron that was playing around with Brooke's pokemon. "That Umbreon there is my partner, Lukas." 

The two continued talking for a while until she heard someone calling her name. "Brookie!" She looked over and smiled. "Jordan! Hi!" 

"I've been calling you, did leave your ringer off again?" Brooke laughed, a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I guess I did.-- This is Logan Parker, he's a trainer here to challenge the Bardaga too." 

"Oh hi, I'm Jordan. Brooke's friend." 

"Hi! Sorry for keeping her." 

"No worries, she gets easily distracted sometimes." 

"Hey!" Brooke protested playfully and the two boys laughed. "I should be going anyway, my team is probably starving for some dinner." 

"We're about to go get something to eat too, you can join us if you'd like." Brooke offered and Logan accepted enthusiastically.


	19. New Friends and Old Enemies

Brooke woke up the next morning to Lukas and Solomon shaking her awake. "Alright! I'm up! I'm up!" She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "It's about time, sleeping beauty. We're gonna be late if you don't get ready soon." 

"What time is it, anyway?" She asked lazily. "Eight thirty." 

"THE COMPETITION'S IN HALF AN HOUR!?" Her bright blue eyes bulged out of her head in surprise. "Yep." He replied casually as she frantically jumped out of bed and jumbled her things together. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner!?" 

"I've been trying." He shrugged as she tripped over while putting on her socks. He stood up and made his way to the door with Titus next to him. "Gloves! Where are my gloves! They're a signature part of my look, I can't leave without my gloves!" 

"Brookie." 

"Yes? Do you see them?" She looked around on the floor. "They're already on your hands." She froze and looked down at her hands. "Oh." 

"Are you ready yet? They're not gonna wait up for us." 

"Yeah, I guess we'll have to skip breakfast today!" She bolted to the door and Jordan handed her a bagel sandwich. "I already took care of it." 

"You used egg whites?" 

"You know I did." She smiled at him. "You know me so well, come on!" The two trainers ran out of the pokemon center and to the stadium. 

They checked in just in time and stood in the competitor's box waiting for the event to start. Brooke and Jordan stood beside Logan as their partners. "I thought you two weren't going to make it." Logan smiled over at them as the announcer began. "Brooke was taking forever to wake up as usual." Jordan snickered and Brooke crossed her arms. "Not my fault you didn't wake me up." 

"That's a lie and you know it." Jordan retorted and the three trainers laughed, but stopped when the announcer started the match ups. "Now check the screen to see who you'll be facing against!" 

Brooke scanned the eight match-ups and found her picture among the sixteen battlers. She was facing someone named Peter in the third match. "And with that, why not get this thing rolling and invite our first two battlers to the field!" 

"Well that's me!" 

"Good luck, Logan!" Brooke smiled and he smirked, "Thanks, but I won't need it." He walked out and stood across from a girl with long blonde hair. "On the North side we have Logan, and on the South we have Amber, let's see what these two trainers have in store for us today!" 

"This will be a one-on-one battle, the match will be over when one side's pokemon is unable to battle. Now, choose your pokemon and hold their pokeball in our hand." The ref commanded and the two trainers each took out a pokeball and held it out in front of them. "Now release your pokemon!" Amber released a Pidove, while Logan released a Ponyta named Pyrois. "Battle begin!" 

The battle between them was an intense start to the event, with Logan coming through as the winner with Pyrois. The two shook hands, then two other trainers named Danielle and Finley were next. Danielle used a Crabrawler and Finley used a Dedenne, and Danielle along with her Crabrawler came out the winners. 

Next up was Jordan against a girl named Riley with dark strawberry blonde hair and freckles. "You go, Jordan! You're gonna win for sure!" 

"Well I'm sure gonna do my best." He smiled and pulled a pokeball out of his pocket. "Who's that? You already decided who you're using?"

"Of coarse." He winked and smiled then walked out on the field, leaving Brooke wondering who he picked. He stood across from Riley, who, upon command, released a Combusken, and Jordan released a Croconaw. "Rip evolved!" Brooke exclaimed excitedly when she saw the over-energetic water type begin to battle. 

Having the typing advantage, it was easier for Jordan to win. When he arrived back Brooke gave him a fist bump. "When did he evolve?" 

"During some training not too long ago. I wanted it to be a surprise so I kept it secret." He smiled. "Well you certainly surprised me!" 

"Brooke?" 

"Hm? Yeah, Logan?" 

"It's you turn." 

"Oh! Right! Thanks!" She hopped the fence with Lukas and rushed to her spot on the dusty field. The boy she was facing was tall, had dirty blond hair and a prosthetic left leg. When the ref announced for her to prepare a pokemon Lukas was about to jump out. "Hold on, buddy, not yet, okay?" 

"Umbre?" 

"I know, you can go next round, but I have someone else in mind for this one." He nodded, but still seemed a bit upset he couldn't battle yet. Brooke reached in her jacket pocket and pulled out a pokeball. Then when Peter released his Rockruff she released Solomon. "Okay Solomon, this is our first real battle together, let's make it count!" 

"Lux!" He nodded and lowered himself closer to the ground in a fighting stance, his long tail lashing back and forth. "Battle begin!" 

"Rockruff, use howl!" 

"Status moves first, huh?" Brooke mumbled to herself and smirked. "Solomon! Let's get this party started! Use Spark!" He surrounded himself in lightning and raced head first into his target. "Now when in close range use bite!" Solomon turned on his heels and bit down on Rockruff's tail. "Rockruff, use sand attack!" The puppy pokemon kicked sand into Solomon's eyes, and he pawed at his face to get it out. "Rock Tomb!" Solomon was suddenly surrounded by rocks. "Fight your way out of there, Solomon! Ice fang!" He found his way out of the barrier of rocks and was hit head on with the ice fang. When Solomon jumped back after the attack, Rockruff was hardly hanging on. "Bite, Rockruff!" 

"You too, Solomon! Go!" Her Luxio got there first and bit down on Rockruff's leg. The rock type fell to the ground fainted. "Rockruff is unable to battle, the winners are Brooke and her Luxio, Solomon!" Solomon padded back towards her, "Great job, buddy!" She fed him a treat and started making her way back. As she was walking back she passed a boy that she could've sworn she recognized, but wasn't sure from where. 

His name was Everest and he battled a brunette trainer named Viola. Everest used an impressive Frogidier named Nagato, while Viola battled him with a Murkrow. "Hey Jordan, does that trainer look familiar?" 

"Which one?" 

"The boy. I could've sworn I know him from somewhere..." 

"I don't think so. He's probably on his journey, maybe you saw him in a gym somewhere?" 

"Yeah...maybe..." Brooke replied, but she didn't think that was it. 

Everest was the victor and now two other trainers were next. A brunet boy named Charles who used a Dritini named Ophelia against a girl named Isabella who used a bunnelby. Charles won the battle, and Vanessa was up next as afternoon turned to evening. As Jordan's twin was walking out she turned to Brooke. "Now watch a real trainer do it." Brooke and Lukas snarled at her as she stepped up to the field. "Just ignore her, Brooke. She's only trying to get a rise out of you." 

"No kidding." She grumbled. 

Vanessa's battle was over in a matter of moments. She used a Salandit named Azar against a cowgirl named Amanda who used a Mudbray named Clyde. When Vanessa made it back to the other competitors she was smirking. "That's how a real trainer does it." The next two trainers were up. A blonde man with bright blue eyes named Eamon was facing off against a brunet man named Nathaniel. Eamon used a wartortle and Nathaniel used an Alolan exeggutor. They both fought well, but Nathaniel won the match. 

With the end of the first day of battling the sun went down. "Well I'm beat." Logan said. "Dinner again, you guys?" 

"Sounds good to me!" Brooke smiled and the three trainers left the stadium to the pokemon center to heal their pokemon before going to dinner.


	20. The Bardaga Continues!

Brooke woke up earlier this morning to make sure that she was on time, instead of barely late. Although many trainers lost the battles yesterday, they were still here to watch the exciting rest of the battles from up close. They stood in the stadium, eager to get the second round underway.

"Good morning everyone, and welcome, to the second round of the famous Maskros Town, Maroh Bardaga!" The announcer's voice echoed around the stadium, and the fans irrupted in cheers. "Yesterday we had many thrilling match ups! I'm sure this round will be even better than the last! And an extra special treat, we'll be taking care of both round two and three today!" Everyone cheered loudly. "Without further ado, let's get things started! You trainers down there should check out the screen to see who you're battling in round three!" The match ups appeared on the screen. She looked up and saw she would be facing the boy named Charlie. Logan would be going first again. 

"Good luck out there, Logan!" 

"Thanks Brooke, but Orval and I don't need it." He winked and walked out onto the field. He was facing the girl named Danielle. She sent out a mightyena and Logan sent out a female pikachu named Lia. They both fought hard, and it was an interesting battle, in the end Logan and Lia couldn't win and Danielle and her mightyena won the battle. "Sorry you didn't win." Brooke frowned and Logan shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not much of a battler anyway, I'm just glad I could make it to the second round!" He laughed and stood beside Brooke and Jordan, waiting for the next round to get underway.

The familiar boy named Everest was next, going against the blond boy named Eamon. Eamon sent out a wartortle who appeared to be his partner, and Everest sent out an onix named Titania. Despite the type disadvantage and obvious size difference, Everest turned out to be the winner. "This guy's strong, huh? Not every day you see an Onix beat a Wartortle." Jordan observed from beside her. "Yeah, I hope I get to battle him." Brooke smiled as the two trainers made it back to the dugout. Everest and Brooke made eye contact for a moment. It was only for a second, but she knew she had seen that look in his pale green eyes before. "I'm up next." Jordan smiled down at Titus and Brooke remembered he was going up against Vanessa. "Don't let her win just because she's your sister, okay?" He smiled. "You underestimate my will-power, Brookie." 

"You think that's it? You're one of the most stubborn people I've ever met." 

"Right back at you." He turned and left before she could tease him back. He stood on the field across from his twin sister. Brooke watched eagerly as they both chose a pokeball off their belts. Vanessa released a Bayleef named Anemone and Jordan released his staravia, Hugo. It was an intense battle, both of them being strong and capable trainers. But Vanessa was able to beat her 10 minute older brother. Jordan smiled and congratulated his sister, but Brooke could feel something awkward between the two. They weren't quite connecting like they usually do. They both came back to the dugout after Jordan returned Hugo. "Sorry you couldn't beat her, Jordan." He shrugged. "It's okay, hopefully you have better luck. "Thanks!" She smiled, punched his arm playfully and hopped up on the field while Charles, her opponent, took the steps up. 

When she got to her podium she smiled at Lukas. "Ready?" He smiled and nodded, his red eyes were fiery and bright. She looked out across the field at her opponent. He was about 5'7". His short brunet hair was combed neatly out of his face, his olive skin tone was accented by his hazel eyes. He wore a white dress shirt under a black vest with some sort of crest over the right side of his chest. Something about him seemed very proper and poised. She picked Lukas' pokeball out of her pocket and held it in front of her, her partner made sure not to change his stature, not giving anything away. When Charles held up his as well, the ref told them to release their pokemon. Lukas jumped down into the field and Charles released an Alolan Vulpix named Firn. "Battle, begin!" 

"Lukas, use bite!" He raced towards the Vulpix, but the ice type jumped out of the way just in time. "Iron tail, Lukas!" It was super effective and Brooke smirked. "Moonblast, Firn!" 

"Moonblast!?" Brooke repeated. Before she could command anything, a beam of light crashed into Lukas, sending him back. "Are you okay!?" 

"Um...bre!" He stood back up, regaining his battle stance. "Good boy! Use swift!" 

"Powder snow, Firn!" The two moves collided against each other, but Lukas' was stronger and plowed through, hitting Firn. Both pokemon were on their last legs now. "Lukas! Use Assurance!" 

"Use Feint Attack!" Both moves hit each of the pokemon at the same time. Both of them stood still, staring each other down. There was a silence that hung heavy in the air as the crowd waited for one of the pokemon to falter. Then, the Alolan Vulpix couldn't put up with it anymore and fell to the ground. The crowd cheered and Brooke hollered from her podium, jumping down to sweep her partner up in a hug. "Great job, Lukas!" 

"Umbreee!" He squealed and nuzzled her. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we'll now take an hour break for the trainers to get food and heal their pokemon, then we'll begin the third round of battles!" The announcer declared over the speakers. Brooke set down her partner and walked back to the dugout to meet up with Logan and Jordan to go to lunch. 

Later in the afternoon Brooke and the other trainers went back to the stadium to compete in the semifinals. Brooke was a little anxious, either she was battling Vanessa this round, or she was battling Vanessa in the finals. Either way, she'd have to be prepared. "Welcome back everyone! Who's ready for the third and second to last round of the Maroh Bardaga!?" The crowd cheered wildly and Brooke took a deep breath. "Alright! Then let's not waste time! Look to the big screen to see the match-ups for the last four trainers here!" She looked up and saw that Vanessa was battling the girl named Danielle, and she was battling Everest second. 

Vanessa and Danielle went up to the arena. Vanessa used a Milotic named Mina and Danielle used a Kingler. It was close, but Vanessa came out the winner, even against an especially powerful-looking pokemon. Vanessa made her way back to the dugout, smirking. "Looks like I'm battling that boy Everest in the finals." She mumbled to Brooke as she passed. "Don't listen to her, Brooke. You've got this." Jordan said to her, but without looking at him all she replied was "I know" Before jumping up onto the field. She stood across from Everest with the nagging feeling continuing that she knew him. He was pale with and had messy dark lavender hair and pale green eyes. He wore a black and white varsity-type jacket, black fingerless gloves with red wristbands and pale jeans. His expression was neutral and stoic. He held out a pokeball with no hesitation and Brooke held out her choice as well. On command, Brooke released Sophia and Everest released a golbat named Damien. 

"Damien! Use Air Cutter!" 

"Swift!" Damien avoided most of the attack, and struck Sophia a couple of times with his wings. "Water gun!" It was a great hit. "Confuse ray!" Sophia became confused and seemed to have trouble focusing. "Sophia! Come on, snap out of it!" 

"Brave bird!" Damien attacked, but suffered some recoil. "Sophia!" At the sound of Brooke's voice, Sophia shook her head and cleared away the confusion. "Yes! Great job! Now, use water gun again!" 

"Air cutter!" The water gun hit the Golbat right in the head before he could attack. "Now pursuit, Sophia!" as Damien fell from the water gun she slammed head first into him and he was sent flying back into the dirt. The ref announced that Damien could no longer battle and Sophia rushed up to her trainer. She looked across the field and it hit her why she knew him. He returned his pokemon and walked off as the sun was beginning to set. "Come on, Sophia. Let's get you healed up." She returned her pokemon and left to go back to the pokemon center with Logan and Jordan. 

They sat around the lounge just talking while their pokemon were playing around the lounge. Brooke looked around and saw Everest leaving the pokemon center. "I'm gonna go for a walk, I'll be back soon, okay?" She stood up and Lukas rushed over to her side. "A walk? Where?" Jordan asked. "Not sure yet." 

"Well be back soon, you need to take your pain meds." Jordan said as she left. It was dark outside and the cool air was refreshing. She looked to where Everest was going and began to follow him from a distance. 

After about fifteen minutes of walking she saw him go into an alley and she slowed down. Now it'd be too obvious that she was following him, but it could be helpful if she knew where he was going. She looked around and stepped into the alley that lead to a dead end against the back of a building. There were no doors, only a couple dumpsters. "Why are you following me?" She jumped out of her skin when a voice came from behind her. She spun around to see Everest standing behind her, his eyes narrowed. "You scared me!" 

"Why are you following me, Brooklyn?" 

"I know who you are." She replied, regaining her composure. "You're the Team Sapphire member who let me escape from the salon, and the one who I fought in Colina Town." 

"You know who I was." He corrected her, not bothering to deny her accusation. "What are you doing here? Are you going to steal the powerful pokemon at the Bardaga? Well I'm not letting it happen." 

"I'm not on Team Sapphire anymore, I thought once I rescued you, your friends, and your pokemon you would've come to that conclusion." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, I went against Team Sapphire when I let you go. It would've been too dangerous for me to stay there." 

"So what, you're a fugitive?" Brooke seemed skeptical. "Something like that, yes. If Team Sapphire finds me it won't be pretty." 

"So entering into a battle competition is how you go into hiding?" She retorted. "I only entered because I saw you entering." 

"Me?" 

"Yes, I wanted to battle you again." 

"Why?" 

"Do you have any idea how much of a dent you've made in Team Sapphire's plans? Whenever you encountered them you foiled them like it was morning coffee. The Boss likes to keep tabs on powerful trainers." 

"Keep tabs? So Team Sapphire is watching me?" 

"Don't take it personally, they watch a lot of the trainers who show a lot of promise. Especially a gym leader's daughter." 

"How'd you know Trydan is my dad?" 

"It was part of my job to know." 

"So does everyone in Team Sapphire know who Jordan and I are?" He paused for a moment, something about what she said took him aback. "Yes, they do. And your rival, and several of the trainers you've battled in the last few days." 

"You seem like you know a lot about how they work. So why'd you leave?" Again, he paused for a moment. "We were hurting pokemon, hurting people. I couldn't stand by and watch it happen anymore." 

"So where are you going now?" He shrugged. "I'll figure that out later." He turned, ready to go back to the street. "Don't tell your friends you know me. It's best if they don't know." 

"Is it." 

"The less people know where I am, the better. For their sake. Team Sapphire is trying to find me. I have a lot of information on what they're planning." 

"Then why don't you tell me." He shook his head. "Now isn't the time." He left. "Hey! Wait!" She jogged out of the alley, but he was flying away with his Golbat. Brooke sighed and turned back to the Pokemon Center. "Come on, Lukas, let's get back to the others, my arm is killing me." 

"Bre." He nodded and trot by her side as they walked back.


	21. The Finals

"Go Nicole!" 

"Oshima! I choose you!" 

The final round of the Bardaga had begun with Brooke facing off against Vanessa. This could be her chance to finally beat her rival and her Mawile. 

"Battle begin!" 

"Oshima, use Flame Wheel!" 

"Protect!" The mawile put up a shield just in time. From across the field, Vanessa smirked. "Feint attack. Nicole lunged at Oshima and attacked him before he could escape. "Vice grip." Nicole's jaws clamped down around Oshima. "Smokescreen and get out of there!" The arena filled with Oshima's smokescreen and he was able to slip out of the opponent's grasp. "Quick attack!" 

"Iron head, Nicole." She heard both pokemon complaining as the smoke finally cleared. "Flame wheel again, Oshima!" 

"Protect." The move was deflected yet again and Brooke snarled, becoming frustrated. "Quick attack!" He raced across the field, right when he was about to hit the mawile, Vanessa commanded a feint attack and Oshima was sent flying backwards into the dirt. "Oshima!" 

"The Quilava is unable to battle! Vanessa and her Mawile are the winners!" Brooke felt her legs become weak under her, and her chest shattered. "Return, Oshima." She held out his pokeball and he was sucked back in. Brooke stepped off her stage, Lukas following. He knew better than to say anything. 

She returned to the trainers' dugout. "Brooke, I--" 

"I'm going back to the pokemon center." She cut Jordan off. "Brookie." She pushed past him and left the stadium.

After she dropped off her team at the center, she decided she needed a walk with Lukas around the city. 

They were both silent as they walked around a park, watching the Pidgey and Pidove fly around and play in the fountains. Brooke felt crushed, whatever she did, however much she trained, she was never able to beat Vanessa. She was always just one step ahead of her and Brooke couldn't stand it. She was always so close, yet so far away. That snarky and arrogant attitude was always looming over her. 

Suddenly Lukas left her side and wandered into the brush of the forest beside the path. "Lukas?" She stopped, watching after where he left. "Lukas!" She called again when he didn't reappear. She stepped through the bushes and saw him with a leafeon. The leafeon had a pink flower on a collar around her neck. Brooke looked around and didn't see anyone around before looking back down at the grass type that was groomed very neatly. "Do you have a trainer?" 

"Leaa..." She nodded. "Where are they?" 

"Leaaa...leaffeon..." Brooke nodded in understanding. "So you're lost, huh?" 

"Leaaaff..." She looked over at Lukas and he was giving her a pointed gaze. He wanted to help her. Brooke smiled a little, giving her partner a knowing look. "Why don't my partner and I help you find them?" The leafeon immediately perked up. Her tail wagged excitedly and she smiled. "My name is Brooke, and my partner is Lukas." She knelt down and rubbed her partner's fur. "Come on, where was the last place you saw them?" Brooklyn stood and walked back into the park with the leafeon and Lukas. The three of them were walking around the park, watching the lost pokemon and looking around to see if there was anyone looking for a pokemon. 

"Does any of this look familiar?" Brooke asked as she looked around. "Leaa..." 

"April!" They all turned around to see a boy racing towards them. The leafeon smiled and raced up to him, jumping in his arms. "I was so worried about you!" 

"Leaaaa!" She nuzzled him. Brooke recognized him as the boy named Charles that she battled the other day. "Oh hi, you're Charles, right?" He looked up and stood up quickly, April standing next to him. "Yes! It's nice to officially meet you." He smiled. "This is your leafeon?" 

"Yeah, this is April. We got separated when she was chasing after a pidove." He smiled down at her. "That was a great battle the other day." Charles smiled at her. "Oh really? Thank you." She replied. "You put me through a good fight." She smiled back. "I meant to ask you after our battle, where is your uniform from?" She asked, nodding to the crest on his black sweater vest. He looked down, reminding himself of what she was talking to. "Oh, I go to the Unos Academy in Gilid Town." 

"The Unos Academy?" He raised an eyebrow. "Are you new to the Maroh Region?" 

"...Yeah sorta. How'd you know?" He smiled, a hint of a chuckle in his voice. "Well, everyone in the Maroh Region has at least heard of the academy. It's one of the most prestigious in the whole region." 

"Well I'm from Unova, so I wouldn't know." 

"Unova, huh? That's a long way away." 

"Yeah I moved to Playa Town with my older brother and my dad. So what is this academy?" 

"It's a specialized academy, a lot of kids who wanna be gym leaders go there. At the academy either you choose a type to study, or you're assigned a type based on an extensive personality test." 

"So what type do you study?" 

"Psychic Type." 

"So you want to be a gym leader then?" He chuckled a bit. "No, not really." 

"Then why do you go there, then?" He hesitated a moment, something about what she said made him pause, as if he didn't know the answer. "Hey! Brooke!" She looked over to her right and saw Jordan and Logan running up to her, Orval and Titus with them. "There you are! I was worried about you when they said you left the pokemon center a while ago." Jordan panted slightly. "Oh right, sorry Jordan. I was helping this leafeon get back to her trainer." She pointed over to Charles. "You remember Charles? I battled him yesterday in the Bardaga." 

"Oh! Right. Hi there, I'm Jordan O'Connor, this is my partner, Titus." 

"I'm Logan Parker, this is my Aron, Orval." 

"I saw you two battling in the Bardaga, it's nice to meet you. I'm Charles Madison. This is my leafeon, April." 

"So are you on your journey too, Charles?" 

"No, I'm not, I just came down here for the Bardaga. I'd love to be able to travel around Maroh though." 

"Well why don't you?" Brooke asked him, "Well, I really would love to, but even though the Unos Academy does have a study program for students on their journeys, I don't think my parents would want me to." 

"You go to the Unos Academy?" Jordan and Logan looked shocked and impressed. "Why not? There's so much you can learn on a journey, maybe they just need a little convincing." 

"My parents are pretty stubborn people, I don't think it'd be a good idea." 

"You never know until you try, right?" Brooke smiled at him and Charles couldn't help but smile a little back. "Yeah...I guess." 

"Well, Jordan and I are gonna be leaving tomorrow morning at around ten. If you can convince them, be sure to track us down and let us know, okay?" 

"Yeah, I will." 

"Nice meeting you, Charles. Bye April!" 

"leeaaa!" She smiled up at Brooke. Lukas touched noses with her, exchanging a quick goodbye and followed Brooke and the other trainers back to the pokemon center. 

The next morning Brooke and Jordan were saying goodbye to Logan in front of the pokemon center. "I'll be sure to keep in touch with you two, be careful out there." 

"We will, thanks, Logan. Good luck in your performances." 

"Thanks! Orval and I are gonna keep up our practicing. If you're ever around for any competitions, you should get a ticket. They're really amazing to watch." 

"Yeah! We'll look into that! We'll see you along the way, right?" 

"Yeah! Of coarse!" Just then the doors to the pokemon center opened and Charles stepped out with a Dratini slithering next to him. He had a different outfit on, he now was wearing a pale green argyle sweater-vest, a white t-shirt, light khaki capris pants, and light brown loafers. "Oh! Hello everyone, I was just about to come looking for you." 

"Oh hi Charles. Did you call your parents?"

"It took a lot of convincing, but they agreed to let me go on my journey." He smiled excitedly. "That's great to hear! So I assume we'll be seeing you along the way?" 

"Well, actually..." He hesitated a moment, and his Dratini nudged his hand, urging him to go on. "I'm a bit novice with formally training pokemon, and going on journeys. I was hoping, could I go with you?" Jordan and Brooke were taken aback a bit. They exchanged a glance. "I understand if you two want to think this over, or don't want me to intrude on your journey, I won't take any offense--" 

"We'd love to have you come with us, Charles." Jordan and Brooke looked back at him and smiled. Charles smiled as well. "Thank you! Oh! This is my partner, Ophelia." He ran a hand along his Dratini's scales and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Ophelia!" 

"So...where are we going next?"

"Well, the next gym is in Pintar Town, so that's where we're headed next! But we have to pass through Augustin City first." Brooke smiled. "Sounds awesome!" 

"Well, I'll see you three along the way." Logan nodded and walked north west with Orval hurrying alongside him. "Thank you so much for letting me come with you, Jordan, and Brooklyn." 

"If you're travelling with us, you can just call me Brooke, Charlie." 

"Uh--it's Charles." 

"If you're coming with us, you're gonna get used to a nickname." Brooke snickered. "Now come on, Charlie." Jordan rolled his eyes jokingly at his friend and the three trainers went south along with their partners, leaving the city.


	22. Talks

Brooke, Jordan, and Charlie were all getting along great. They were settling in for a night at the campsite, Titus and Jordan had gotten a fire started and Charlie was cooking some instant food over the fire. The pokemon were all out and relaxing together. Titus was trying to take a nap, even though Rip and Ophelia were annoying him a bit. Lukas and April were sitting beside each other, as were Sophia and Oshima. Solomon was guarding the egg from Brooke's feet as she sent a text to her brother and father. Firn, Charlie's Vulpix, and Selena, Charlie's Liepard were sitting by his feet as he was cooking. The night was surprisingly cool compared to the typical midday heat that would stick to everything. 

"Hey Charlie." 

He looked up as he handed her a paper plate of food. "Yeah?" He sat down on a stool beside her. "When we were talking to you in the park you mentioned that your parents wouldn't think this is a good idea, why is that?" She swallowed a bite of food, Jordan started eating and turned his attention to Charles curiously. "Oh, well, um--" He began and settled in. "I'm an only child, and I come from a family of very wealthy people. The idea of me "roughing it" doesn't sit well with them. Images to uphold and all that." Brooke and Jordan exchanged a glance. "So your parents didn't want you to go on a journey because it wouldn't look good for them?" Charlie shrugged and ate another mouthful. "Yeah, pretty much." He looked up and his eyes shifted between them, his eyebrows furrowing. "What?" 

"Well, it's just--" Brooke began before looking to her friend for help. "Your parents shouldn't tell you not to do things because of how it affects them." Jordan finished for her. "They should encourage you to follow what you want to do." 

"They've just always been this way. They wanted me to study grass types, so here I am." 

"I thought you said it was determined with a personality test." 

"Well, usually it is, but my parents are close with the headmaster, so they encouraged him to give me psychic type." 

"But what type did you get?" 

"I was a pretty even mix between grass and fairy." 

"So you were forced to study a type you have no interest in?" 

"Well psychic types are very interesting! They're very powerful. But it is a bit boring to study one type at a time. I wish I could learn more about my team." He smiled at his pokemon relaxing in the grass. "Your parents shouldn't be restricting you into choosing a certain type." It was quiet after Brooke said that. There was only the crackling and snapping of the fire, and the gentle shivering through the trees. "How did you two meet?" Charlie asked, changing the subject. "Brooke and I met growing up together in Castelia City in Unova. I found Lukas after he got lost in the city and returned him to Brooke when I was eight and she was seven. We instantly became best friends and I got pulled out of home school and put into public school so I could spend more time with Brooke." 

"So you two have known each other for a really long time, then." 

"Yeah, we have. And our partners even longer." Brooke rubbed Lukas' head between his ears and he smiled, nuzzling into her palm. "And how did you meet your partners?" 

"Titus and I joined together when I went to Virbank City with my father on business. I was bored while he was in a meeting so I went wandering around the city when he wasn't looking. I eventually found my way into the Virbank Complex and accidentally disturbed a petrat nest. The petrat cornered me, about to attack, and out of nowhere Titus jumped out and fended of the petrat. He ensured that I made it back to my father safely and just followed me around my whole time in the city. My father suggested I catch him, and Titus was eager to become my partner. It just worked out that way." Jordan smiled as he remembered. He looked down at Titus who was still sleeping. "What about you, Brooke? How'd you meet Lukas?" She looked down at her umbreon, a smile spreading across her lips as well. 

"Well, when I met Lukas I was walking home from the pokemon gym with my father's Manectric named Elijah. I spent a lot of time watching gym battles while I was growing up and I would often walk home by myself, so my father had one of his pokemon walk me home. That day I was walking home, we heard the sounds of a wild pokemon battle down an alley, and it didn't sound good. So we went down the alley and saw an eevee being cornered by some pidove and rattata for some food, so I jumped in the way and defended him, the wild pokemon were still going to attack so Elijah provided a little extra encouragement. Seeing that the eevee was unhealthy and underweight I brought him to the pokemon center and visited him until he got better. When I went to let him back into the wild he didn't want to leave, so I convinced my dad to let me keep him." 

"What about you Charlie? How'd you meet Ophelia?" Jordan asked. "I was vacationing in Johto with my family and we had a chance to go to the Pokemon League happening and sat in a special box since my family had donated to the association. While we were there we had the chance to meet the Elite Four and Ophelia was actually a gift from Lance." 

"Lance like the Johto Champion, Lance?" Brooke nearly spat out the water she was drinking and stared in awe at him. "That guy is a legend! His dragon type pokemon are incredible!" 

"That's so cool! To get your starter pokemon from a real champion who was an elite four member and a champion!" 

"Anyway, we should be turning in." Charlie said and finished cleaning up after dinner with the other two before they all went to sleep in their tents. 

Brooke lay awake for maybe an hour before she sat up, deciding she needed some fresh air. She quietly left the tent and slipped on her shoes before going to wander around the forest. The forest was quiet, aside from the occasional call from a hoothoot, or a distant howl from a mightyena or a lycanroc. Brooklyn nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Solomon following her. "Lux. Luxio." 

"Jeez, Solomon! Don't sneak up on me like that!" He tilted his head to the side and gazed at her quizzically. "I just needed to get some fresh air. Sorry if I worried you." 

"Lux." 

"You can come with me if you'd like. I know you're going to follow me anyway." He took a few more steps so he was by her side, and the two walked through the light brush of the forest. Out of the corner of her eye she could see his bright golden eyes staring at her. "Would you stop looking at me like that? I'm fine." 

"Lux...io." 

"You know, you're more bothered by my burns than I am." She teased him a bit, but his serious face was unwavering. "I'm more bothered by losing to Vanessa than I am to have to deal with these scars." 

"Lux..Luxio..Lux lux." 

"I know, I know, Oshima did his best, it wasn't his fault. It was my fault for being an incompetent trainer." She sighed deeply. "It's my job to make sure we're not totally overpowered like that." 

"Lux...?" 

"I just...wanted to beat her so badly. You know? To finally shut her up and prove that I am a good trainer..." 

"Luxio...?" 

"We should head back to camp before the other pokemon wake up and wonder where we've gone." She turned and went back the way they came, being silent the whole time.


	23. White Lie

The three trainers were on their way to Augustin City, and had woken up nice an early in the morning, much to Brooke's dismay. "Hey Charlie!" He turned from the map on his pokegear and looked over at her. "Yes Brooklyn?" 

"You mentioned you come from a wealthy family, yeah?" He nodded. "What do they do?" 

"Well, my great grandfather founded the Clark Mason clothing company, which was very upscale and brought in a lot of money very quickly. Once he retired, he passed it down to my grandmother, who then passed away and handed it off to my father, who co-runs it with my mother. So I'm next in line." 

"A clothing company, huh? That's what you wanna do?" 

"It's what my parents want." Brooke raised an eyebrow at him. "I didn't ask you what your parents want, Charlie. I asked what you wanted." He looked over at her with this...look on his face. Almost surprise, like no one had ever pressed him on this subject before. He looked ahead of him. "So you want to be champion?" She could tell he was avoiding the question, much like he did last night, but she didn't want to push something that could be sensitive. "Yeah! I've been training since I was six years old and I've always wanted to be really powerful! I just haven't gone on my journey until now, because Jordan and I promised we'd go together." 

"You two are really close, huh?" 

"Yeah! We've known each other since we were little kids." 

"Why do you want to be champion?" Brooke thought for a moment, "I don't really know." She laughed. "I've just always wanted to. I met Alder once when I was really little, I doubt he would remember it. I got to see him battle my father, who is a talented trainer, and that just really encouraged me to follow whatever I was passionate about. And I'm passionate about battling, so it just made sense." 

"It makes sense your father is a strong trainer. Who is he?" Brooke paused a moment. "Did I say he was strong? He's just--he's just very good at it. He cares a lot for his pokemon." She looked towards the trees, avoiding Charlie's gaze. "No-No you didn't say he was strong, I guess I just assumed. Sorry." 

"Forget about it." She brushed it off casually. "Hey! We're here!" Jordan called from ahead of them, pausing at the top of the hill. They all looked down on the small historical city that had a fort down my the ocean. "Wow! This place is beautiful!" 

"Yeah! It looks really nice." 

"Let's head down to the pokemon center, I should heal up after all the training we did." 

"Titus and I will scope out some places for lunch. I'll meet you two there, okay?" 

"Sounds good, Jordan." The three of them went into the city and Jordan and Titus split off while Brooke, Lukas, Charlie, and Ophelia went to the Pokemon Center. 

The two trainers sat in the lounge in the Pokemon Center while they waited for their teams to be healed up. 

"So you've lived in Maroh your whole life, yeah?" Brooke asked and he nodded. "Yep. Although I've gone on vacation all over the world thanks to my parent's business trips. Thank goodness they left me with my caretaker rather than having me sit in those boring meetings." Brooke laughed a bit. "So what regions have you been to?" 

"Well, lets see." He counted on his fingers. "Johto, Alola, Kalos, Unova, and...Hoenn." 

"That's more than I've been to!" Brooke looked at him, eyebrows raised. "I've only been to Unova, Maroh, and Johto." 

"Where in Johto have you been?" 

"Goldenrod City. I absolutely loved it there!" 

"You like big cities, huh?" 

"Love them! There's always so much to see!" She smiled widely. "I wanted to catch a Nidoran while I was there, but my dad said I wasn't ready to take in a second Pokemon yet." Charlie opened his mouth to reply but someone walked up to them. "Well well well, look who's here." They both looked over and Brooke felt a pit in her stomach. "What are you doing here, Vanessa." 

"Just leaving town, actually." 

"Leaving already?" She scoffed. "You think I'd really spend more time than I need to in this dump city when I can get to Pintar Town and challenge the next gym? I don't think so. Don't tell me you're just getting here." 

"So what if I am." Brooke demanded rather than asked. "Well, while you're dawdling I have four badges and preparing for my fifth. You're still stuck on three, huh?" 

"I'm catching up, Vanessa, just you wait." 

"Oh, I'm waiting." Brooke snarled at her rival and Vanessa turned. "See you around." She went to take a step, but paused. "Or...maybe not." Vanessa smirked and walked away, leaving the Pokemon Center. Brooke took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "Who was that?" Charlie asked, amazed at the event that unfolded in front of him. "Vanessa O'Connor. My rival since I was little." 

"O'Connor? Like Jordan?" 

"Yeah, she's his twin sister. Somehow." 

"What happened between you two to make you hate each other like that?" 

"Just years of lost battles, competition, and snide remarks. Like how all rivals start. We were both the best battlers in our class in trainers' school, so it was natural that we'd always be pinned against each other." 

There was silence for a moment until multiple Pokemon's voices sounded behind her. She turned and saw Nurse Joy carting back Charlie's team and Brooke's team, with Lukas trotting alongside them. "Hey there! Feeling fresh?" 

"Umbree!" He smiled and the trainers took back their pokeballs. "Thank you, Nurse Joy!" 

"Any of them give you trouble?" 

"Well, Brooke, your Luxio gave me a bit of trouble." Brooke sighed a little. "Sorry about him, he's a bit...defensive." 

"It's nothing to worry about, he certainly isn't the most difficult pokemon I've had to deal with." She smiled before taking her cart back to her desk, and helping a young trainer with his pokemon. 

"Oh, Jordan just texted me. He found a place for lunch!" 

"I think I'm gonna do some training with my team, I'll catch you two later!" 

"Are you sure? What are you going to eat?" 

"I'll figure something out, talk to you later!" She and Lukas left without allowing Charles to reply. 

Later that night Jordan was in Brooke's room helping her apply the antibiotic cream and bandages to her burn. "I need to ask you something." He said, out of the blue. "Yeah? Brooke raised an eyebrow, looking over at her best friend. "I overheard you talking to Charlie this morning, and I need to ask. Why did you get so weird when he asked you about your Dad?" Brooke looked away. "When he asked if he was a strong trainer, you said no. I think being a gym leader qualifies someone as a strong trainer." 

"No--No, it wasn't anything like that. I just... I don't want Charlie to know about Dad." 

"What, that he's the Playa Town gym leader?" 

"Yeah." He was quiet, like he was trying to figure it out himself. "Why?" 

"Well...all my life I've lived in the shadow of being a gym leader's daughter. I...I don't want him to think differently of me because of who my father is, like a lot of people do." 

"I don't." 

"I know you don't. You've known me for so long that it hasn't affected your judgement. But when I tell people I'm Trydan Areca's daughter, they expect me to be some prodigy. He doesn't know me well enough to know me without my father. I'll tell him, eventually, but just...not for a while." Jordan was thinking it over. "I'll keep your secret. I think you're being ridiculous, but if this is that important to you, I won't tell him."

"Thank you, Jordan." He finished wrapping up the bandages. "You owe me one." 

"Yes I do." 

"I'm gonna hold you to it, okay?" 

"Yes, yes, alright. Go to bed." He stood up off the bed and left to he and Charlie's shared room with Titus.


	24. Fossil Cave

The trainers had spent another day in Augustin City, and were now on their way to Pintar Town and going through a passageway called "Fossil Cave", named because of the amount of old Pokemon remains found within the dark cave. It was quiet and dark, which made Brooke fight the grogginess that had haunted her since the morning. The only sounds were the drips from some far off water source, the shuffling of the trainers' feet, and the occasional fluttering of a zubat's wings. "Are we almost out?" Brooke complained. "A bit more than halfway. It's getting a bit late, so it'll be time to set up camp in here some time. Let me know if you think you've found a good spot." 

"Wait we're only half way? And we have to sleep in this musty cave?" 

"Now, Brooke, don't worry, trainers sleep in here all the time, it is a rather lengthy cave. We'll be to the other side before you--" He stopped himself when Jordan abruptly stopped in his path, looking around in all directions. "You...okay there Jordan?" Brooke asked, her and Charlie stopping as well. He didn't answer. "Jordan?" Charlie probed, "Shhh." Jordan held up one finger, telling them to wait a minute. "What's wrong?" 

"Shhhhh!" He repeated more aggressively. "Do you guys hear that?" 

"Hear what?" 

"Listen." They all were silent, careful not to make any sound that would interfere with whatever Jordan had heard. After a couple minutes, they heard it again, echoing along the rock walls of the cave. "That sounds like a Pokemon cry!" 

"It sounds like it's in pain!" Charlie realized. They all exchanged a look and raced off in the direction the cries were coming from. Finally, they reached a large alcove filled with many large rocks. The cry was much more clear, "Crrraaaaannnn..." It sounded pitiful. Near the wall of the cave they finally saw it. A small Cranidos had its hard, dome head stuck inside a rock. "We have to go help it!" Brooke was about to run over to it, but Jordan gripped her arm. "Wait a moment, you can't just rush into a situation like this." 

"Huh? Why not?" 

"The poor thing is probably frightened, we have to be careful." 

"That's right, it's only a baby." Charles chimed in. Brooke looked over at him. "How can you tell?" 

"Well, a normal Cranidos is about 2'11" in height, but this one looks about 2'5"-2'7"." 

"How'd you know that? What are you, a walking Pokedex?" Brooke teased. "I may or may not carry around a small Pokemon encyclopedia with me." He retorted. "How do we get it out of the rock without hurting it?" Jordan wondered aloud, and they all turned back to the situation at hand. "Jordan, maybe Rip can use water gun to break the rock apart?" 

"But what if I accidentally hit the Cranidos? Rock types are typically afraid of water." Brooke thought for a moment. "I guess it's the only choice we have." Jordan released his Croconaw. "Crocaaa!" He smiled excitedly, happy to be out of his Pokeball. "Rip." The Pokemon danced around, looking eagerly around the cave, breaking a rock with a water gun. "Rip!" Jordan tried to get his Pokemon's attention again, but it was obviously not listening. "Rip!" Finally, the big jaw Pokemon looked back up at his trainer, who was pinching his the bridge of his nose. "Listen carefully, okay Rip?" He knelt down to be closer to eye level, making eye contact so he was sure his Pokemon was listening to him. "I need you to lightly use water gun to break the rock that Cranidos is trapped in, okay? Careful, do not hurt the Cranidos. Got it, buddy?" The Croconaw nodded and waddled over to the rock and Jordan stood back up. "He's still as excitable as ever, huh?" Brooke looked over at him and he nodded. "Sometimes it's hard to get him to listen to me." 

They watched as Rip approached the rock, and the Cranidos watched him carefully, standing still for a moment. Then Rip blasted the rock with water, shattering it, but also startling the Cranidos. Frightened of the sudden crash and blast of water, the head-butt pokemon backed up against the wall of the cave. "Okay, that was probably more water than necessary." Jordan sighed and walked over to where Rip was standing by the shattered rock bits. He hadn't seemed to notice that he used more force than he needed to. Jordan knelt down and looked at the Cranidos, softening his posture and expression. "Hey there little one, don't worry, there's no need to be frightened." The rock type still seemed unsure, backing against the wall more as Jordan slowly inched closer. "I know you're scared, but it's okay, you're out of the rock now." 

"Jordan, be careful." Charles warned from the entrance to the alcove, and Titus whined in agreement. 

Jordan was much closer to it now, showing the palms of his hands to allow the baby Cranidos to see that Jordan wasn't a threat. The Cranidos tried backing up more but slipped and went crashing head first into Jordan's abdomen, accidentally using headbutt. "Jordan!" Brooke, Charlie, and their partners rushed over to Jordan as he groaned against the rock floor. "Ouuuch." He mumbled through a cringed face. Titus began growling at the Cranidos. "Are you okay? Where'd he hit you?" He ignored Brooke's questions and slowly leaned up, propping himself on his elbows, grimacing in pain. He placed a hand on Titus' back to calm him down. "Easy there, Titus." 

"Growwl?" Titus hesitantly stood by his trainer's side. Cranidos looked confused and worried down at Jordan. "Hey there, don't worry, Cranidos. It was an accident. You didn't mean to hurt me." He tried to reach out and pat his head, but it was too much movement and Jordan's hand immediately went to his stomach. He lay back down on the ground. "Try not to move too much, we should get you on something more comfortable. Charlie, could you set out Jordan's sleeping bag and stuff and get a fire started?" He nodded and went to set up camp.

After Charlie laid out Jordan's sleeping bag, they shifted Jordan on top of it and he groaned as he lay back. "Why don't you take off your jacket and let me see the wound." She helped him unzip his sleeveless jacket and lay it beside him, Rip and Titus sitting on the other side of him from Brooke. He lifted up his tank top to reveal his stomach and Brooke could see the formation of a nasty bruise. "Lukas, could you get the first aide kit out of Jordan's bag?" He nodded and retrieved the case. She bundled up Jordan's vest and lay it under his head. "Take some deep breaths, that'll help you relax." She took the bandages from the kit and thanked her partner. She placed a hand around the bruise gently yet firmly, and she felt his muscles tighten. "I'm sorry, I've got to feel around to see if you have any broken ribs." 

"No, it's fine." He replied shortly, "Where'd you learn to do that?" 

"Don't you remember when Nurse Joy came by our school to teach us some basic medical training for journeys?" 

"Way back in seventh grade?" 

"Yeah." 

"You still remember all that?" 

"Sure, it was all important." 

"I think you're just finding an excuse to feel around my abs." She laughed and began wrapping bandages around his waist. "Shut up, dummy." He chuckled a bit too, but stopped shortly so not to hurt himself too bad. When Brooke finished she sat back and realized Cranidos was watching them from behind a rock. "Hey Jordan, can we invite him to dinner?" He looked over, careful not to twist his body and smiled at the small rock type. "Hey little guy. You can come out here." He stepped out a bit and took a few steps towards Jordan. "Are you hungry? You can sit with us for dinner." Jordan smiled warmly at him, encouraging Cranidos to sit beside them. 

Dinner was tough. Jordan had a hard time sitting up to eat it, but smiled to the Cranidos whenever he looked at the boy worriedly. 

That night Brooke had to change the bandages and apply the medicine herself. This would be the first time since her doctor's appointment that she had really seen her wound. She cringed when she peeled away the bandages and wondered how Jordan was able to do this for her every morning and night. Her whole upper forearm was red and a bit wrinkled, and faded to a light pink and her normal skin to her elbow. Gingerly, she reached over to touch it and felt the calloused skin, frowning. Her arm was never going to look normal again. She took a deep breath and continued changing the bandages, being sure to apply them evenly before laying down to sleep. 

The next morning they were preparing to leave the alcove in the cave, and Jordan was able to move around a bit more, even able to walk, although they would need to visit a doctor when they made it to Pintar Town. They had just finished packing when they heard small footsteps approaching them. "Well look who came to say goodbye." Brooke smiled and they other trainers looked over and saw Cranidos walking over to them. "Hey there, Cranidos. Come to say goodbye?" Jordan asked, looking down at him. Cranidos shook his head and stepped closer to Jordan. "Cran cranidos cran cran!" 

Charles smiled softly. "I think he's telling you he wants to go with you, Jordan." Jordan looked down, a bit surprised. "Really?" 

"Cran!" 

"Well okay then! Welcome to the team." Jordan held out a Pokeball and Cranidos eagerly touched it with the dome on his head. Jordan smiled at the Pokeball and released his new team member again. "Hmmm... I should think of a nickname for you, huh?" 

"Cran." 

"What do you say to the name Ryder? Do you like it?" The Cranidos smiled excitedly. "Cran cranidos cran! Cran!" 

"Awesome, little man! We're glad to have you on our team!" Jordan returned him again and placed the Pokeball in his pocket. "Well, let's head to Pintar Town." Jordan smiled and head out of the alcove to leave the cave with Brooke and Charlie.


	25. Ruins of Pantano Castle

After what felt like forever of walking, the three trainers and their partners finally made it out of Fossil Cave and were out in the open air again, on their way to Pintar Town. Once they walked about four miles, a jeep sped past them on the road, and stopped a few yards in front of them, making the trainers stop in their tracks. A man opened the door and hopped out, looking at them. He was tall and very tan, had dark brown hair and appeared as though he hadn't shaved in several days. "Are either of you Brooklyn Areca or Jordan O'Connor?" He asked, they all exchanged a glance and Brooke and Jordan raised their hands. "That's us?" 

"Perfect! Professor Pine wants to see both of you up at the ruins of Pantano Castle. Your friend here can come too." He hopped back in the jeep and the trainers walked up and jumped in. Jordan and Titus sat in shotgun and Charlie and Brooke sat in the two seats in back. The man turned the jeep around and sped down the path back the direction he came in. "So where is this Pantano Castle?" Brooke asked over the sound of the engine. "Pantano Castle was just recently discovered in the swamps up north. It's a castle that used to belong to this old rich guy, no one is quite sure of his name. He had this fascination with collecting rare pokemon, and kept many of them on his property. Eventually, he became power-hungry and greedy and several of his pokemon turned on him, buying the castle in the swamps, not to be discovered until now." Charlie explained to her. "Your friend there is right. We have a team of archaeologists up there and they found something interesting the Professor thinks you should see." 

"Interesting? What is it?" 

"He'll fill you in once you get there. Oh, and Brooklyn, the Professor has another surprise for you." 

"A surprise?" 

"Yeah, he'll show you that too once you arrive." 

 

They finally made it to the castle at about midday. The trainers looked around in awe at the ruins. The castle was falling apart from old age, and was covered in vines and looked as through it was melting into the swamp. There were several tents pitched around the outskirts of the clearing with scientists rushing from one to another quickly. The man parked the jeep and they all filed out. "Right this way, Professor Pine wanted Brooke to see her surprise before coming to see him." He led them into the castle.

This place was definitely old, the walls were covered in ivy that the scientists were trying to peel away gently, there were old rugs that were torn and dusty and tapestries and paintings torn and faded with age. A chandelier lay on the floor in the foyer. He took them down a narrow door into a dimly lit staircase. Once at the bottom, they were standing at the entry to a large hallway, with huge doors lining the hallway on either side. Each of the doors displayed an intricate design of old pokemon, a different legendary pokemon for each door. "Your surprise is right in there, Brooklyn." The man nodded to a door. "Jordan, why don't you tell the Professor we're here, he's in the third room on the left." The man turned and stepped into the room and Jordan headed down the hallway. Brooke stepped into the room and there were three scientists in lab coats inspecting a text on the left wall with little computers. "She's here, Theo." The younger scientist turned around and pulled down the facemask that was covering his mouth. He smiled widely at them. "Well it's about time."

"Theo!" Brooke yelped and jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. Theodore laughed hugged her back, spinning her around before setting her back on her feet. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, remember, I told you that Professor Pine was letting me work in his lab?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, this is my trial run for field work! It's going great! I'm getting so much experience out here."

"Eee! Espee!" Lola stepped out from behind him and greeted Lukas excitedly.

Charlie stood back and watched as they greeted each other. They talked so much at once that Charles couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed as he picked up tiny bits of their rapid talking. Brooklyn was obviously excited to see this young man, whoever he was. He cleared his throat and Brooke turned to look at him. She smiled apologetically. "Oh! Sorry, Charlie. Theo, this is my friend Charlie. Jordan and I met him in Augustin City and he's been travelling with us. Charlie, this is my older brother, Theodore." Charlie smiled politely. "Pleasure to meet you, Theodore."

"Please, call me Theo. Sorry to hear you've been stuck with my baby sister this whole time. I bet she's been driving you crazy." He teased and she punched his arm playfully. "Shut up!" He laughed as Jordan and Professor Pine walked in. "Hello Brooke."

"Hi Professor! Good to see you again."

"Good to see you too. I'm glad you were able to come up here." He looked over at Charlie. "Oh! Charles Madison, right?"

"Yes sir, it's good to see you again, Professor."

"You two know each other?"

"Yes, we met when I made a presentation at the Unos Academy. Charles made a point to come meet with me about some internship opportunities a while ago. Are you travelling with Brooke and Jordan?"

"Yes sir, I am."

"Well! What are the odds, huh?" He laughed a bit. "Professor, what is it you wanted to show us?"

"Ah yes, come with me." He beckoned for them to follow him and he took them upstairs and out of the castle and to the biggest tent outside. He stood in front of a large computer screen and Theo stepped over and pulled up some maps of what looked like the castle. "This computer system has mapped out the floorplan of the entire castle, and with thermal detection we can detect our scientists and their pokemon throughout the building." The Professor explained, and Theo pulled up a map of what looked like the basement floor that they were just in. "This is the basement. Here are our scientists and their pokemon helping them." Theo pointed to the bodies moving in the rooms closest to the stairs. "But there is a warm body down here that appeared a few days ago. From all readings, it appears to be a pokemon."

"What pokemon is it?" Jordan asked and Theo leaned back from the screen and placed his hands on his hip. "Well isn't that the million-pokedolllar question."

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked. "Well, we don't know what pokemon it is. We can't tell. We've tried everything short of disrupting the integrity of the building to get in there, but the pokemon seems to have sealed itself in there somehow."

"Let's go take a look." Brooke nodded to her friends and they headed back into the castle and down to the basement floor. She went up to the door and placed a hand against it. "It's cold."

"An ice type pokemon maybe?"

"Maybe..." Brooke tried to pull back the door, but it was clasped shut. She was about to try again, but suddenly a large explosion was heard from above, sending dust raining onto the trainers. "What was that?"

"Come on, we need to go up." They raced upstairs and out of the castle along with the other scientists who were in the building. There were several large trucks surrounding the whole clearing that were white with a large blue "S" painted on the sides and several team sapphire grunts were rounding up the scientists with their ice and water type pokemon. "Team Sapphire!" 

"Who is Team Sapphire?"

"They're an organization that believes that pokemon should only belong to the wealthy, and they'll make that happen by any means necessary." Brooke explained to Charlie while glaring at them all. "Come on, we have to hide." Jordan raced off with the four of them.

They were all hiding behind a broken tower while Team Sapphire members scoured the area. "We need to think of a plan." Theo whispered. "I agree, but what?"

"I say we get out there and fight back. What do they even want with this place anyway?" Brooke suggested and Lukas nodded. "No, we're vastly outnumbered, there's no way we can fight back like that." Jordan shook his head. "We need to think of something else."

"If we don't fight back, they'll find us and we'll be toast."

"Too late." A sly voice came from behind them and they all spun around to see a squad of Team Sapphire members standing there with their pokemon glaring menacingly at them and binds in their hands.

Having no choice, the trainers were forced into the metal binds that were wrapped around their arms and torso, and their pokemon were taken from them. Now they were sitting in the dirt being guarded by several grunts. Suddenly a chill filled Brooke's body. "Did it suddenly get colder for anyone else?" Jordan asked. "It's these binds. They're designed to send chills through the person's body." Charlie replied with a shiver. Then another truck arrived, carrying a machine in the back. Several grunts rushed over as soon as it stopped and activated the machine, making a loud whirring sound. "What is that thing?" Brooke asked. "I have...no idea." Charlie replied. "To answer your question, it's a pokemon finder. We send signals of any specific pokemon, and it finds it with no trouble at all." Brooke looked over to see who answered her question. It was a tall, burly man that wore a long dark blue jacket and a beanie over his bald head. His eyes conveyed no expression when he spoke. "I am Crimson. You must be that teenage girl who's been giving us so much trouble."

"You won't get away with this. Whatever you want with this place, you won't get it." Brooke spat, glaring daggers into him. "We'll see." He said simply before walking away towards the trucks. "Attention everyone!" He addressed all the scientists being held captive in front of him. "We of Team Sapphire only have a few simple requests. Should they be followed without resistance, you'll all walk away with your lives. However, if you refuse to comply, then let's say no one is leaving this castle again." There was a tense silence that hung over the air as they all waited. "First Request, show us where Xerneas is." There was whispering among the scientists. "Xerneas? There is no Xerneas here!" Professor Pine replied. "We've been tracking it for some time. We know that Xerneas is the pokemon that you've discovered in the castle. Just show us where it is and how we can get it out, and you all will be unharmed." 

"You really believe we'd just tell a bunch of selfish crooks like you?" Professor Pine spat. "You have no other choice. I have you, your pokemon, and your scientists held captive. It's only a matter of the easy way, or the hard way." 

Brooke looked around at the other scientists as they were silent. No one wanted to hand Xerneas over to Team Sapphire, even if it meant that they got hurt. 

"Very well then." Crimson finally said. He began walking in Brooke's direction and she felt a rock fall in her stomach as he approached. He stopped right beside her, and reached out, but didn't grab her. He grabbed Theo by the collar of his lab coat roughly and began dragging him back the way he came, Theo kicking and trying to worm free. "Hey! Wait! What are you doing!? Bring him back here!" She attempted to stand up, but was held down by a couple of grunts. Crimson threw Theo down into the dirt where he was originally standing and pulled out a luxury ball. "Attention captives!" He addressed them again. "If no one within the next thirty seconds tells me where Xerneas is hiding, then this boy will be attacked by my Weavile." He said as he released his pokemon. "What!? You can't do that!" Brooke shrieked as she tried to wriggle free from the grunts' grasp. His expression was unchanging and he looked over at her. "Watch me." He growled. He turned his attention back to the scientists, who were exchanging nervous glances. 

Charlie watched as Brooke tried to force her way free, but was thrown into the dirt face first, terror shaking her bright blue eyes. Charlie's heart was twisting as he saw the horrible expression on her face, utterly frightened. "Give him back now!!" She screamed as the Weavile sharpened its claws, narrowing its cold eyes at Theodore. "Alright. Time's up." Glace interrupted Brooke's screaming "NO!!" 

"Weavile. Night Slash."


	26. Brawl at Pantano Castle

"Alright. Time's up." Glace interrupted Brooke's screaming "NO!!"

"Weavile. Night Slash." Weavile was about to attack Theo. "WAIT!! I'll tell you where it is!" The whole crowd looked over at her in fear and Crimson commanded his Weavile to stop. Two grunts pulled her back up to her knees. "Brooke, what are you doing?" Charlie whispered to her and she turned her gaze to him. "I can't let them hurt my brother, Charlie." She winked, letting him know she had a plan. "Good. Now--" 

"On one condition." Brooke interrupted, and he almost laughed. "I hardly believe you're in the position to be negotiating." 

"On the contrary, I'm the only one here who knows how to lure it out. My brother knows Xerneas well, and has taught me about it. I know what to do." He narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you want?" 

"Let my brother, my friends, and myself go. Along with our pokemon." He scoffed. "Do you think I'm stupid?" 

"Either you let us go, or you waste your time dealing with Xerneas, who has sealed itself away." He took a moment to consider her offer. "I will release you, your friends, and your brother from their binds. But you will remain under guard, and your pokemon will not be returned to you. One wrong move, you'll be back in the binds, and your brother may not be so lucky." 

"Fine." 

He nodded to the grunts who pressed the release, making the bindings fall to the ground. As soon as Brooke's cuff hit the dirt she raced over to Theodore and wrapped him in a hug. He wrapped his arms around her as well, his body shaking. "Are you okay?" 

"I'll be fine. You didn't have to give up Xerneas." 

"I'm not going to let you get hurt when there's something I can do about it, Theo." 

Meanwhile the pokemon were all thrown into the back of a semi truck. Lukas was thrown in roughly, and was sure he was going to have a bruise from where one of the grunts grabbed him out of Brooke's arms. He, Lola, Titus, and Ophelia were the only ones outside of pokeballs and were trying to adjust to the darkness. (("We have to find a way to get out there.")) Lukas mumbled as he paced. (("No duh.")) Titus replied. (("Now isn't the time for your attitude, Titus.)) Lukas snapped. (("Lola, help me find our teammates in here while you two attack that door.")) The Umbreon and Espeon waded through the mass of pokeballs while Titus and Ophelia launched attacks against the door, although it hardly made a dent. (("This isn't doing much, Lukas.")) 

(("Keep going, we'll have more help soon.")) He found Sophia and and released her from her pokeball. Lola found a Tirtouga that he assumed was Theo's. Charlie was also able to find Rip, Ryder, and Hugo, but Charlie's team, Oshima, and Solomon were nowhere to be found. Giving up on the search he returned back to his teammates and helped them attack the door. They were making progress little by little. 

Two grunts stood on either side of Brooke as she entered the castle with Crimson and her friends. "Where is it?" 

"The top floor." 

"If I find out you're lying to me--" 

"I'm not." 

"Good." He started marching upstairs, the grunts and trainers following him. 

They reached the top floor and the grunts scattered to look in all the rooms. Charlie watched as they ran all over the place, looking in room after room. Brooke had lied to them, and whatever she was planning wasn't happening yet and he was growing more nervous by the minute. Suddenly, he felt a hand wrap around his. He looked over to see Brooklyn was holding his hand. He felt heat rising in his face at the contact and his heart started beating even faster. But then he noticed something in between their hands, it was small, but he recognized the texture and he smiled. He took them from her hand and placed his hands in his pockets. 

"This room's clear!" 

"So's this one!" 

"Nothing in here!" Finally all the grunts came back, having found nothing. Crimson turned to Brooke and glared. He was angry. "Where is it?" 

"You thought I'd give in that easily? Charlie, now!" They took their cue and threw up their pokeballs. Brooke released Solomon and Charlie released his whole team. "Solomon, use ice fang!" 

"April, use magical leaf! Firn, use feint attack! Selena, use pursuit!" All the attacks created a smoke cloud and the trainers made a brake for the stairs. "How did you all get your pokemon back!?" Jordan asked, "Free the scientists and pokemon now, talk later!" Brooke replied as they rushed outside, sending their pokemon in all directions. 

They all split up. Brooke, Charlie and his pokemon all went into battle while Jordan went through and freed all the scientists. Brooke defeated grunt after grunt, sometimes multiple at once with just Solomon, but it was starting to wear them down, and she couldn't figure out where all the pokemon were being held. Suddenly she and Solomon were surrounded by grunts. "Give it up, girly." One of them taunted. "We've got you surrounded." 

"Dragonite! Use hyper beam!" A voice called from above, and a dragonite attacked all the Team Sapphire grunts, defeating them. The smoke from the attack cleared and Brooke looked up to see a man in a Team Sapphire uniform jump down from a broken bit of stone beside her and the dragonite. "Are you alright?" He asked from under a blue hat that matched his uniform and a pair of glasses. "Who are you?" He tore off the glasses and hat, revealing dark red spiky hair and dark amber eyes. "Apologies, my name is Lance. I'm working undercover helping the champion Alex investigate Team Sapphire. Your name is Brooklyn, right?" She stared in awe. "You're Lance! The champion of the Indigo Plateau! 

"Yes, that's me." 

"Y-yes, my name is Brooklyn. You can call me Brooke." She pulled herself together in the presence of this amazing trainer when she remembered that she was in the middle of a massive battle. "Come on, Brooke, I'll show you where the pokemon are." He and dragonite led the way to a large semi truck with loud banging sounds coming from inside. He pulled open the doors and the pokemon stared up at them. "You're all okay!" Brooke smiled and greeted her partners. "I'm glad you're all safe, go help the other pokemon defeat Team Sapphire, Lukas, you're with me." They all nodded and raced out of the truck to help their trainers. "Let's go, Brooke, these grunts aren't going to defeat themselves." Lance and dragonite raced out into the battlefield with Brooke and Lukas close behind. 

Soon enough, all the Team Sapphire members were defeated and had run away in the trucks they came in. "I can't thank you all enough for saving us." Professor Pine greeted Lance, Theo, Jorda, Charlie, and Brooke after the battle was over. "It was nothing, Professor." Charles replied. "No need to thank us, it wouldn't have worked without the help of our pokemon." The Professor nodded and went to one of the tents when another scientist waved him over. "Brooke." Lance got her attention and she turned to him again. "How were you able to fight back against Team Sapphire when they had their Pokeball deactivator running?" he asked, looking down at her. "Oh well, there was nothing to it. When I ran over to hug Theo, my brother, after I was released, I rolled one of my pokeballs under the truck with the machine on it and my buisel, Sophia, released herself and broke it. I kept some of my pokemon, and Charlie's pokemon when the grunts captured us because I hid them in my shoe and in my gloves." 

"That was a brilliant plan." Brooke was floored. The champion of Kanto and Johto had just complimented her. "Thank you, Lance. It was nothing, really." He turned his attention towards Charlie and looked down at Ophelia, smiling ever so slightly. "Hello again." He knelt down and ran a hand down the Dratini's back. "You remember her?" Charlie asked as Lance stood up again. "Of coarse I do, I remember all the pokemon I hatched. Especially one that was such a trouble maker with me." 

"She has always liked causing trouble." Charlie smiled. "You've done a wonderful job raising her, Charles. She's very healthy. In fact, she may evolve soon." 

"Really? Thank you, Lance." 

"Um--Brookie." Jordan cut in. "Yeah?" She looked over at him to see the egg in his hands. It was glowing brightly in the case. "OH." She gently opened the case and took the egg out and sat on the ground with it in her lap, everyone looking over her shoulder excitedly. It cracked a couple times before glowing even brighter, partially blinding everyone. Finally it stopped and a little Bagon was sitting in Brooke's lap. She gasped lightly and smiled at the little baby dragon type. "Hello there, little one." She spoke softly to it and it gazed up at her with wide and curious eyes. It looked around at the other trainers and Lance knelt down to take a closer look at him. "He looks strong." Lance held out a hand to the baby before running his hand down its gray crest. Bagon seemed happy to have Lance's hand petting him. "Dragon types are very complex pokemon, and can be difficult to train. Where did you find this egg?" 

"Professor Pine and Alex gave him to me." Brooke replied, not taking her eyes off the baby pokmeon in her arms. "Oh, so you're the trainer Alex has told me about." This was enough to draw her attention away from the Bagon. "Alex told you about me?" 

"She did. She has a lot of faith in you and your abilities as a trainer. She's excited for you to challenge her." 

"She is? Really? She told you that?" 

"She didn't have to. I've been a champion long enough that I can tell when another champion gets excited about a trainer. It's happened to me." 

"If what she has told me about you is true, then you should have no trouble raising this pokemon to his full potential." Lance smiled slightly at her and Brooke looked back down at the dragon type and smiled again. He looked back up at her. "How about I name you Cooper, does that sound good to you, little guy?" 

"Baaaaaaag!" He smiled excitedly and Brooke chuckled. "I'm glad!" She reached into her bag and took out a pokeball and tapped it lightly on his forehead. Shen stood back up and looked down at the pokeball. "Welcome to the team, little guy."


	27. Works of Art

Lance had left Brooke with several tips on raising a Bagon and dropped them off at the entrance of the next city called Pintar Town. It was a large city that reminded Brooke a lot of Castelia City in Unova. It was on a small peninsula, so docks lined the outskirts of the city. The streets of the city were crowded, and small stands with people selling sculptures, pottery, paintings, jewelry, clothing, and food. "What is going on here? Why is this place so busy?" 

"The Pintar art fair of coarse!" Someone behind them answered. They all turned to see a tall man, maybe about 20 or 21. He had dark brown hair that was gelled perfectly up and out of his face, and had stubble along his chin, accenting his strong jawline, and bright violet eyes that had an air of confidence in them. He wore a dark purple t-shirt under a black leather jacket, a black necklace with a curly-q pendant, a black belt with a silver buckle with a grinning ghostly face on it, black pants that ended on the calf, and white tennis shoes. "An art fair?" Brooke repeated and he looked over at her. "That's right, beautiful." Brooke felt herself tense a little, and her cheeks began to warm. "This art fair makes Pintar Town pretty well known, aside from the races we hold here every year. My name is Prizrak, by the way. What's your name, skitty?" He looked back down at Brooke and something about his bright charoite eyes that made her heart flutter. "Brooke, this is my umbreon, Lukas." 

"Brooke, what a beautiful name." He smiled down at her, his teeth pearly white. "I'm Charles, this is my partner Ophelia." Charlie cut in before Brooke could reply. "And I'm Jordan, this is my growlithe, Titus." Jordan introduced himself. "Nice to meet you guys. So, if you're not here for the art fair, what are you all here for?" 

"I'm working to become the champion, so I'm here to challenge the gym leader here." Brooke replied and Prizrak smirked. "Well then, Skitty, I look forward to your challenge against me." Brooke's eyebrows raised. "Wait, you're the gym leader?" She asked and he smiled wider. "You bet, I'm the greatest ghost-type trainer in the Maroh Region." She smiled too, excited to have an excuse to see this man again. "But I'm afraid I won't be in tomorrow, I'll be out and about the art fair." 

"So you'll be back the next day then?" He nodded. "Are you all staying in the Pokemon Center while you're here?" He asked and they nodded. "Then please, allow me to take you there. It's easy to get lost in these big streets with all these people." He smiled and started to lead the trainers through the streets. 

Charlie watched as Prizrak and Brooke talked along in front of him. There was something about the ghost type gym leader that Charles didn't trust. The way he smiled seemed so rehearsed or fake, every line of what he said sounded like he'd said it a hundred times. But Brooke seemed to find every word hilarious and interesting. She hardly took her eyes off him. Charlie tried not to let himself frown at them, but couldn't help himself. Why should he be so upset anyway? It's not like she was marrying the man this instant, they were just having a conversation. But telling himself that didn't melt the pit in his stomach he got from watching them. 

Finally, they arrived at the Pokemon Center. "I'll see you for that challenge, Skitty." 

"I'm looking forward to it." 

"Don't keep me waiting." He winked at her before leaving them down where they came from. They walked in and went up to the front desk to get rooms. Jordan leaned against the counter and looked over at Brooklyn while they waited. "Does someone have a crush on the gym leader?" Jordan teased and she laughed, the blush from talking to Prizrak not yet leaving her cheeks. "Maybe, maybe not. He is pretty cute." 

"What is it? His flirty remarks? His strong jawline? His stubble on his chin? His confident attitude?" He teased her again and she laughed, nudging him playfully. "Shut up, Jordan!" They were teasing, but Brooke knew Jordan had a point, and he was correct with every word. 

Brooke walked into her room, and Jordan and Charlie were in the other. Brooke released her team and flopped down on the bed and let out a long sigh. "Umbre?" Lukas looked at her with a small smile as he sat beside her. "You bet I'm tired, buddy. I've been sleeping in tents and rocky cave floors. And I'm still exhausted from the battle at Pantano Castle the other day." She closed her eyes as she spoke, fighting sleep to keep her conversation going. "Bre. Breon. Umbreon." 

"I will, I will, okay? I'm just gonna take a quick nap--" she yawned, "--and then we'll call Dad." She was just about to drift off when Lukas jumped on her stomach, winding Brooke and shooting her straight up. "Okay! Okay! We'll go now! Geez!" Lukas had a confident smirk and headed for the door, looking back to make sure she was following him. 

Brooke and Lukas went down to the public phones on the main floor, and she rung up her father. As soon as he answered, he looked a bit irritated. "It's about time, young lady!" 

"What?" 

"I have been worried sick since I saw what happened on the news!" She raised an eyebrow, "What?" He sighed. "Pantano Castle, Brooklyn. It was on the news. Your brother got home that night and told me what happened, I've been waiting for you to call me." 

"Oh! Right! Sorry, Dad, I probably should've called you from Lance's car. I've been focusing on my next gym challenge, I must've forgotten." He sighed again. "I'm just glad you're okay, Brooke. You and Theodore could've gotten really hurt out there." 

"I know, I'm thanking my lucky stars that we all made it out okay. How's Theo?" 

"He's fine. Still a bit shaken up though from that Weavile." Brooke frowned as she remembered her brother almost being brutally attacked. "I'm sure he'll be back to normal soon enough." 

"Anyway, where are you now? Are you in Pintar Town?" Brooke nodded. "I am, yeah. Just got here a while ago." 

"Well I don't want to keep you from your preparation, Brooke, you've got a tough match ahead of you. Besides, you look exhausted." 

"I am. It's been a long couple days." Her father nodded in understanding. "Get some good rest, and be careful. I know you can handle yourself, and you have your friends and your team, but please stay safe." 

"I will, Dad, I promise." 

"I love you, Brooklyn." 

"I love you too, Dad. Tell Theo I said 'hi'." He nodded again and hung up. 

Brooke sighed. 

"Oh hello, Brooklyn." She nearly jumped at the sudden voice behind her, she turned to see Charlie behind her. "Oh sorry! I didn't mean to startle you." 

"How long were you there?" 

"I just walked over. Who were you calling?" 

"Oh, um--just--Professor Pine. He wanted to check up after what happened at the castle the other day." Brooke lied, and Charlie nodded, although he seemed a bit skeptical. "I'm going up to the rooms, care to join me?" 

"Yeah sure. I'm headed up too." 

The two trainers walked down the hall to their room, and when Brooke arrived at hers, she wasn't quite sure what she was looking at. "What...is going on in here?" Charlie walked in behind her. Cooper was sitting up on a tall dresser while all the other pokemon were looking up at him. Sophia and Solomon rushed up to her. "Lux! Luxio Luxxi!" 

"Buizel! Buiz! Buiiiz!" Brooke's eyes went wide. "Say what!? He's gonna jump off that and fly?" They nodded. "Brooke, don't you remember what Lance warned you about?" Charles reminded her from behind. "He's not jumping off that thing if I have anything to say about it!" She pushed over a swivel chair and stepped on top before hopping up to the dresser, sending the roller chair flying back. Just as he was about to launch himself off Brooke scooped him up in her arms and let out a sigh of relief. Cooper looked up at her with bright eyes, laughing in her embrace. "You're gonna be a little trouble-maker, aren't you, little one?" He laughed again and Brooke couldn't help but smile down at the little baby dragon. "Hey Charlie?" 

"Yes, Brooklyn?" 

"Can you set him down for me?" 

"Of coarse." He stepped forward and gently took the Bagon from her and set him down on the ground, instantly being checked over by Sophia. She looked around and noticed the chair she used broke in her climb. "Do you need help?" He chuckled as he noticed her looking around. "Yes, come here." He stepped over so he was right in front of her. "You put your hands on my waist and I'll put mine on your shoulders, okay?" She placed her hands on his shoulders and he reached up and placed his around her waist. His hands were soft, and warm and held her firmly. "Okay. One...Two...Three." He lifted her up and quickly set her back down on the ground in front of him. 

For a moment, their hands lingered on each other. Brooke felt her heart beat in her ears, and could feel her cheeks blush ever so slightly as Charlie's fingers shifted nervously along her waist. It was quiet, not even the pokemon made a sound as they watched the two trainers for a moment. 

Suddenly they heard Jordan calling for Brooke down the hall, and they were drawn back to the present. Quickly, Charlie stepped back from Brooke a couple paces just before Jordan and Titus walked in. "Hey Brooke! I was thinking about your training for your gym battle--" He looked over. "Oh! Hey, Charlie!" 

"Hi." Jordan looked between them. "You two okay?" 

"Yeah, I just remembered I have to feed my team, I'll see you both." Charlie nodded and left the room. "That was weird." Jordan commented as he turned back to Brooke, who had regained her composure by now. "You were saying, Jordan?" 

"Right! So, I was thinking, maybe Cooper and Ryder could be training partners. They're both babies, and I think it'd be useful to have them against each other. What do you think?" 

"Yeah! That sounds like a great idea! What do you think, Cooper?" She looked down at the little Bagon and he jumped excitedly. "Baaaag!!" 

"I think he agrees." Brooke laughed. 

"Well, my team and I are pretty beat. We'll see you tomorrow!" 

"Goodnight, Jordan. Goodnight, Titus." 

"Night, Brookie!" 

"Grooowwl!" 

Brooke got changed and lay back on the bed, her exhaustion catching up with her again. Lukas climbed into bed next to her and the two fell asleep together.


	28. In Love

Brooke woke up the next morning and stretched, waking up Lukas next to her. She reached over and checked her phone to see a text from Jordan. "Figured you'd need your rest after the castle, Charlie and I already left. Give me a call when you're done getting ready." She smiled, thankful her friends didn't wake her up early. 

After taking a shower and getting dress she dialed Charlie and he told her to meet them on Ghoul Avenue near the Pokemon gym. 

However when she stepped outside she and Lukas were so caught up in the art fair, and the crowds, that they immediately lost track of where they were. "Great. Now we're lost. What now, Lukas? In all this crowd, it'll take forever for my phone to pull up the maps. Should we just keep walking until we figure it out?" She looked around, and Lukas didn't give a very confident reply. "Well what do we have here?" She turned and smiled when she saw Prizrak smiling behind her. "Oh Prizrak! Am I happy to see you!" 

"Hello, Skitty. What's the problem?" 

"Well I'm supposed to be meeting with Jordan and Charlie, but Lukas and I got so caught up in everything that we're lost. Can you help us?" He chuckled. "Anything for a beautiful lady like you." She blushed a bit. "Where are you meeting them?" 

"Ghoul Avenue." 

"Right near my gym. Right this way." He walked beside her and Lukas. "Where are you from, Skitty?" 

"Castelia City, in Unova." 

"Castelia is very similar to here, isn't it?" 

"Yes! It's a big city with a lot of culture and events, like this art fair." 

"So what are you doing here in Maroh?" He looked down at her as they talked, seeming to know the way to his gym by heart. "My dad got a job here so I moved to Playa Town with him and my older brother. I never had the chance to go on a journey there, so I decided Maroh would do nicely." 

"And how did you meet your friends?" 

"Jordan and I have been friends forever. We grew up in Castelia together, but he moved here a while before I did. And Charlie I met in Maskros Town after the Maroh Bardaga. We've been travelling together since." 

"I remember my journey through Maroh. I took it with my best friend too." 

"Who?" 

"Have you heard of Psiquico?" 

"Yeah! He's the Psychic Type gym leader from this region, right?" 

"That's right. And from Hau'oli City. Same as me. We were rivals through Alola, and then rivals and travel partners through Maroh, and now we're both powerful specialty trainers." 

"Well hopefully some day I can be champion." 

"Do you have a specialty, skitty?" 

"No. I just see what friends I make, and if they want to come with me, they do." 

"Hey! Brookie!" She turned and saw Charlie and Jordan jogging up to them. "You walked right past us!" 

"We did? Oh! Sorry, you guys, I guess I didn't see you." She laughed and Jordan raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. "Right." 

"Anyway, I should be going, skitty." He smiled down at her and gently took her hand and kissed it. She felt her face heat up and butterfree fluttered around her stomach. "Oh! Um--okay." 

"It was a real pleasure talking with you. I can't wait to see you at my gym." He winked and smiled before walking off back to the art fair. 

Jordan nudged Brooke. "How's you track him down, lover-girl?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"Oh, please, Brooke. There's no way you just ran into him on the way here?" 

"I did!" Jordan scoffed, the teasing smirk never leaving his face. "Is he why it took you so long to get here?" 

"Well Lukas and I got lost, and we ran into each other and he offered to help me find you guys. There's nothing wrong with that." Brooke defended herself. "Did you guys get lost, Lukas?" Jordan looked down and the umbreon nodded. "Okay, if you say so. Either way, it doesn't matter, you still like him!" 

"Do not." She tried to brush him off. "Yeah you do. Your face is red." 

"It's called eczema, Jordan." 

"You haven't had an eczema flare up in years and you know it." 

"Come on, we need to get training." She started walking off, with Jordan next to her and Charlie following behind. 

Charlie watched the two friends teasing each other ahead of him. Something was making him not feel right. He had this feeling in his gut, a feeling like he may be sick, and something like a mandibuzz picking at his chest. The feeling happened whenever he saw Prizrak, specifically whenever Charles spoke to Brooke. That smooth voice he'd use, or the shameless flirting, the rehearsed lines and compliments. He knew what the problem was, he knew what was wrong with him. He liked her. He had figured it out when he went back to his room the other night. 

His stomach would twist whenever she'd make eye contact with him, his face would flush when she'd brush shoulders with him, or pat him on the back, he'd smile when he'd see her training or battling, her blue eyes burning brightly. He couldn't help himself, the moment he started battling with her in the Maroh Bardaga, he felt as though he had already known her. 

He was jealous of the man who made it look so easy to win her attention. As they were walking to the park away from all the people at the fair, Charlie let his eyes drag over to Brooke and smiled. 

Jordan had finally stopped teasing Brooke, but while they were talking, she still couldn't get that ghost type trainer off her mind. He was sweet and talkative, and seemed genuinely interested in whatever she had to say. He made her feel like she was special. The way he'd hardly take his bright, violet eyes off her made her imagine she was the only girl in the world, at least the only one that mattered. Her best friend may have only been teasing her, but she could say with confidence that she was starting to have feelings for him.


	29. Prizrak

Brooke had actually woken up early to get to the gym and challenge Prizrak as soon as possible. 

They finally arrived to the building with the golden pokemon league seal on the door. It was a building made to look like a haunted house near the edge of the main part of the city. The wood paneling was peeling off, and the old windows were boarded up. "Well this is his gym. Are you ready, Brookie?" Jordan asked and Brooke nodded excitedly, not taking her eyes off the front door. "Then after you." 

Brooke pushed the squeaky door open, and there was an eerie quiet. It was pitch black except for Lukas' glowing rings on his body. As soon as the wooden door slammed shut behind them, torches lit up a stairway up to the battlefield, and a sidewalk for her friends to get to the stands to watch. Brooke walked up the steps illuminated by the blue fire and stood beside her partner on the podium. "Well, well, well, hello there, Skitty." A smooth voice rang out in the darkness and Brooke recognized Prizrak's silhouette brightened by the torches on the four corners of the battlefield. Suddenly the stadium was dimly lit up by several chandeliers dangling above them and Brooke could make out many fans--mostly girls--in the stands cheering as soon as the lights flashed on. Brooklyn smiled across the way at her opponent. "Morning, Prizrak." 

"This will be a three-on-three battle, the battle will be over when either side is out of able Pokemon! Substitutes are allowed, send out your first pokemon!" 

"Mimikyu! Let's light the stadium!" He tossed out a pokeball and released a Mimikyu. Brooke smiled and took a pokeball from her belt. "Let's start this battle off right, Sophia!" She released her Buizel. "Battle begin!" 

"Ladies first." He gestured to her, and his Mimikyi mimicked his actions. "If you insist. Sophia! Water gun!" She spat a heavy stream of water at the Mimikyu. "Double team!" Multiple mimikyu appeared in a hoop around Sophia, leaving her confused, looking around. "Concentrate, Sophia! Only one of them is real!" She kept looking around, trying to focus. "Shadow ball, Mimikyu!" All the mimikyu pulled up a shadow ball. "Aqua jet, Sophia! Plow through them!" The buizel sped through all the copies, passing through each one as they tried to hit her with the shadow ball. Suddenly she rammed into one and it went flying back, making all the copies vanish. "Great job, Sophia!" 

"Now don't let up, use water gun!" Sophia launched the attack and landed a great hit. "Dazzling gleam!" 

"Aqua jet again!" Mimikyu wrapped itself in a bright sparkling ball and launched itself at Sophia, while the buizel became enveloped in water and launched at Mimikyu. The two met in the middle, and the power of their moves clashing together sent waves through the stadium. They pushed against each other for some time, both Brooke and Prizrak holding their breath, hoping their pokemon is the one to make it through. Suddenly, a bright light emerged from Sophia's aqua jet. 

Sophia began to change shape within the water. She grew substantially and her tail split in two, the float around her neck elongated around her entire body, and the blue fins on her paws grew even longer, along with the tufts of hair on her head. The glowing stopped, and Sophia pushed right through Mimikyu's attack, fainting it. "Mimikyu is unable to battle, the first round goes to Brooke!" 

"Great job, Sophia!" Brooke cheered and the now Floatzel smiled and cheered herself. Prizrak returned his pokemon and chuckled. "I knew I shouldn't underestimate you, Brooke. But that was only one of my pokemon, can you handle my star partner? Go Cherie!" He released a Gengar that grinned menacingly across the field at Sophia. "Let's keep up, Sophia! Use Water gun!" 

"Night Shade!" 

"Aqua Jet!" 

"Hypnosis!" 

"Dodge it!" Sophia tried to jump out of the way, but mid-jump was hit and fell asleep on the ground. "Sophia! Wake up!" 

"Now dream eater!" Cherie projected an almost shadow-like version of itself that passed through the sleeping Floatzel, sucking out all of her energy. "Sophia is unable to battle! The round goes to Prizrak!" Brooke returned her partner and held the pokeball up to her mouth. "Thank you, Sophia. You fought well." She reattached it to her belt and looked down at her partner. "You ready?" Lukas looked back up at her with red and determined eyes. "Umbre!" 

"Then get out there." He nodded and jumped out onto the battlefield. "Bite, Lukas!" 

"Sucker punch!" 

"Assurance!" 

"Hypnosis!" Cherie launched several glowing rings at Lukas. "Dodge it and use bite!" Lukas lowered himself to the ground at a pounce, and near the last moment he leaped up over them and landed on the ground in front of the opponent, biting down hard on them before jumping away. Cherie teetered a bit before falling down on the ground. "Well done, Lukas!" He jogged back to Brooke's side and stood in front of her, waiting for the last opponent. 

Prizrak took off his last pokeball and released a Misdreavus onto the field. "You're our last shot, Misdreavus! Let's show them what we've got!" 

"Lukas! Use assurance!"

"Mean look!" The opponent glared at Lukas, and Brooke knew she'd have to be even more careful. There was no switching out unless Lukas fainted. "Now use confuse ray!" 

So that's what he was planning! Trapping him out there and giving him an ailment. Lukas teetered out in the field, trying to gain control of his movements. "Hang in there, Lukas! Use Bite!" She tried to command, but he didn't seem to understand her and used iron tail instead, and it almost missed. "Use hex!" 

"Lukas, no!" It was a good hit, and although it wasn't very effective, it still did a number on him. "Lukas, snap out of it, buddy! Use bite!" He shook his head clear and used bite on the Misdreavus. "Yes! There's my boy! Assurance!" 

"Hex again!" 

"Bite, one last time!" A super effective hit caused the ghost type to hit the ground. "Misdreavus is no longer able to battle! Brooke and Lukas are the winners!" 

"YES!" Brooke rushed out onto the field and hugged her partner tightly. Jordan and Charlie, along with their partners rushed onto the field to congratulate her as well. "Brooke! We're so proud of you!" 

"Now you're halfway to being eligible for the Pokemon League!" Charlie smiled at her. "Thanks you guys! It was really Sophia and Lukas who did all the work." 

"Not bad, Skitty. Not bad at all." She looked over and Prizrak was there, holding a dark purple antique box in his hands. "This belongs to you." He opened the box, inside was a badge that was dark purple in the shape of a ghost, and in silver was a creepy smiling face on it. "Thank you, Prizrak!" She gently took the badge out and placed it in her badge case. "Brooke! Brooklyn!" She looked over and her eyebrows shot up when she saw Logan against the barriers of the stands. "Logan!?" She rushed over and nodded to the security guards who let him in. He hugged her quickly. "What are you doing here, Logan?" 

"Well, I'm in town for the contest happening tomorrow, and when I heard there was a level four gym battle going on, I had a feeling it was you!" 

"Brooke, we should go heal Sophia." Charlie suggested and Brooke nodded. "Come on, Logan! We'll talk at the Pokemon Center!" 

The trainers sat in the lounge while they waited for their pokemon to be treated. "So there's a contest tomorrow?" 

"There sure is! This'll be my second one." 

"So how do these contests work?" Jordan asked. "Well, like the ones in Kalos. First is the primary round that has some sort of theme competition that three contestants compete in at a time, then is the freestyle performance round! At the end, the winner gets a contest ribbon. When they get three ribbons, they can advance to the next round." 

"That sounds like a lot of fun!" Brooke smiled. "I can get all of you in, if you'd like." 

"Really? Logan, that sounds amazing!" 

"You sure you're fine with staying in Pintar Town another day?" 

"I'm sure Brooke will be just fine with that." Jordan teased and Brooke punched his arm playfully. "It'll be so much fun, we're happy to stay and watch your performance!" 

"Great! I'll see you all at the performance hall tomorrow at ten! I have some last minute training to do." He stood and left to collect his pokemon from Nurse Joy, and go outside to the park and prepare while the other trainers left for their rooms.


	30. A Dazzling Contest Spectacular

The trainers were waiting outside the performance hall for Logan to meet them and walk them in. The morning was cool and the sun was already shining on what was going to be a cloudless day. "Hey there, guys!" They looked over and smiled as Logan walked over to them. "Hey! Logan! There you are! Are you ready?" Jordan asked with a smile and Logan nodded confidently. "You bet! I can hardly wait, right Orval?" He looked down to his little Aron who nodded excitedly. "Well hello, Logan." They looked over to a boy maybe an inch or two taller than Logan. He had olivey tinted skin that was very tan, messy and somewhat curly dark brown hair, the slightest stubble along his jawline, and deep green eyes. He wore a red quarter sleeve shirt with a white collar that curved along the neckline, a dark belt with a light turquoise buckle, dark brown pants, and dark high top shoes the same color as his belt. He had a Baile style Oricorio by his side. Logan placed his hands on his hips, the slightest smirk on his face. "Hello, Miguel. Here to be defeated in a contest?" 

"If you'll recall, Logan, it was me who beat you last time." 

"You're not just getting here, I hope, Miguel. I've been here preparing for a half hour already." the boy, Miguel, looked over to the side and scoffed a bit. Logan laughed. "Miguel, these are my friends I met at the Maroh Bardaga a while ago. Guys, this is my rival, Miguel." 

"I'm Brooke, this is my partner, Lukas." 

"I'm Jordan, and this is Titus." 

"Hello, this is my dratini, Ophelia." They all introduced themselves and Miguel smiled at them. "My name is Miguel, this is my Oricorio, Alba." 

"So you two are rivals?" Charles asked. "Sure are! We have been since we were kids. Miguel is from Viridian City in Kanto, and would attend the same dance academy as me in the spring and summer. We were two of the best dancers in the class, so we were quick rivals." 

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miguel." Charlie smiled and Miguel nodded, saying the same before turning to Logan. "My team and I should go get ready. See you backstage, Logan. We'll see who wins this round." 

"Yes, Miguel, we will see." Miguel smirked and walking off into the concert hall as more and more crowds of people were walking in. They were about to head in themselves when Prizrak walked over to them with some friends of his trailing behind. "Hello, Skitty." 

"Hi Prizrak, are you here for the contest?" 

"Of coarse, I adore contests." 

"Oh! This is my friend, Logan Parker, he's performing today." 

"Is he? Well, best of luck to you, Logan. And to your Pokemon."

"Thank you, Prizrak!" Logan smiled. "Well, I'll see you inside." He winked at Brooke, nodded and smiled at Logan before walking inside with his friends. 

"Look at that hair! And his tanned skin, wow." Logan smirked in Prizrak's direction and Brooke looked over at him. "What?" 

"Oh don't tell me you haven't noticed, Brooke. Just look at that man! He's so hot!" 

"He's been flirting with Brooke since we got here." Jordan butt in and Logan whipped his head over to Brooke, his eyes wide. "Really! I'm so jealous! His last boyfriend was also a contest performer so I've got to talk to him more. Part of the reason I went to your gym battle yesterday was to see Prizrak." 

"His last boyfriend?" Brooke repeated. "Oh yeah, Prizrak is Bi." 

"Well, we should be heading inside." Charles suggested and Logan nodded. "Right! You guys have got to get good seats! Come on!" Logan lead them all into the auditorium which was mostly vacant except for a few people scattered around, and the stage hands rushing around to finish getting ready. The stadium was decorated with fancy lights and sparkly ornaments and a large monitor against the back of the stage to project the performers. 

"Wow! This place is huge!" 

"Yeah! It's gonna be great!" Logan smiled. "You all go ahead and sit somewhere, Orval and I are gonna head backstage and get dressed." Logan waved goodbye and started to head up the steps. "Break a leg!" 

"We'll be cheering for you!" The trainers all took a seat and waited eagerly as the crowd started to fill in the rows. 

Backstage Logan was preparing in a dressing room. He had changed into his contest uniform. A black dress shirt under a pale blue suit jacket with the collar propped up, and glowing brighter blue designs on his chest, shoulders, and along the trim, and a blue bow-tie. He had on a pair of white pants with blue vertical stripes, and his lucky gold arrowhead necklace chained around a belt loop. The white overcut of his hair was slicked back with two colored hair jell blue stripes running from the front to the back, and a light golden eyeshadow on. He was fixing the accessories on his three selected team members. His aron, Orval, was wearing a blue bowtie that matched his bright blue eyes, and had orange/gold designs decorating his metal shell that Logan had painted on with some thin brushes. His Ponyta, Pyrois, had his hooves painted dark blue, and was wearing a nice blue bowtie like Orval was, and was given some sparkly orange painted designs on his face like Orval had. Then his pikachu, Lia, had on a large light blue bow, and a blue little flower around her neck, with an orange band around it. 

He was putting the finishing touches of blue face paint around Lia's red cheeks when Miguel stepped over. He was wearing a black dress shirt, a turquoise bowtie, and a red sparkly vest, along with red pants and a black belt with a turquoise belt buckle with it. His Oricorio, Alba, had a blue rose-like flower tucked in its feathers. His eevee, Belle, had a red frilly bow in her hair and around her tail, and his Horsea, Atlas, had a red bowtie on.

"You all ready, Mi Amado?" Miguel asked, and Logan felt a small smile creep on his face as he stood. "I know what that means, Miguel." Miguel smirked a bit as well. "Oh? And what does it mean, Logan?" 

"Miguel! Gill! Amber! You're up first!" The stagehand called out into the room. "I think it means you and your team should get going." Logan coyly replied and Miguel walked away, his team walking with him. 

Out in the stands, the stadium was full and the host descended from a platform onto the stage, with a Tsareena by her side. She was in a very modern looking white and dark magenta colored dress. She had very long blonde hair with bangs that whisped off to the side, resembling her partner. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to Maroh's Pokemon Spectacular Rookie Class!" The crowd cheered for her as she stepped onto the stage with her partner. "In the Rookie Class, the performers will compete in an introductory round where they have to participate in an activity that will show off their powerful bonds with their pokemon. In this first round, the performers will be having a bake-off, cooking up some delicious cupcakes! Our judges for this round will be: Esteemed Maroh Contest performer and water type gym leader in Rosa City, Agua!" Brooke smiled at the gym leader she had defeated not too long ago. "Along with famous Maroh fashion designer and flying type specialist, Vol! And last but certainly not least, revered chef and Kalos pokemon league member, Siebold!" The crowd cheered wildly for the judges. "Now, without further ado! Our first three performers!" Three platforms raised in cases, and at the same time they all opened. A tall, blonde girl with a Leavanny, a Glaceon, and a Smeargle walked out of the one on the left, a blonde boy who looked similar to the girl stepped out with a Vanillish, a Combee, and a Deerling in the brown winter coat. Then finally Miguel walked out of the one on the right with his Baile Oricorio, Horsea, and an Eevee. Then out from under the stage three cooking stations and a large section of ingredients and toppings rose up in front of the performers. "All right! On your marks, get set, bake!" The timer started and immediately the performers rushed to get baking. 

The timer went off and the cupcakes were presented to the judges and their partners. The three contestants stood eagerly on the stage as the judges tasted their work. Miguel had presented an assortment of vanilla cupcakes with turquoise icing and orbed decorations in the folds, then with white ornaments of each of the judge's pokemon. All three of them enjoyed both the taste and the presentation, and Miguel had moved on to the next round. 

Logan watched from the waiting room as two more sets of contestants went up before the judges. He was fiddling with his lucky gold necklace that was chained around a belt loop nervously and running a gloved hand through his overcut every few minutes. "Arroon?" Orval looked up at his trainer, somewhat worriedly. "Oh, I'm just fine, Orval. I'll be fine. Just a little anxious is all." 

"Aaaarrooooon." 

"Don't worry, cutie, I'll be just fine. We're ready for this." 

"Adam, Logan, and Alaina, you're all up next!" Logan's heart sounded like a noivern's boom blast, but he nodded and smiled, following the stage hand backstage with his two opponents and their pokemon. The other boy, Adam, had a magnemite, a beldum, and a mightyena. The girl, Alaina, had out a Lurantis, Alolan Marowack, and a Bounsweet. 

They were raised up onto the stage, and their cases opened. The stadium was full and Logan felt his hands shaking, although he smiled and waved. Pyrois stepped forward and rubbed his head along Logan's palm. He looked down at his pokemon who were smiling at him reassuringly. He nodded and walked with them to his cooking station. 

"Contestants, get ready....get set....bake!" The host set the timer, and immediately Logan and his team went to work. "Orval, you're up here on the counter with me. Lia and Pyrois, you go pick out the milk, sugar, and eggs. Lia, I want you to go pick..." He turned his head and looked over at the judge's pokemon carefully. "Go pick out a Petaya berry, a Salac berry, and a Liechi berry." They nodded and ran off to go grab ingredients and Logan and Orval got to work on imagining the decoration. "Okay Orval, once Lia gets back with the berries, you'll both get started on making the frosting. You have to mix the berries into three separate frostings, and be sure to save some small berry bits for decoration. Got it?" 

"Aaaron!" 

"Great!" His partners rushed back with the ingredients he told them to get. "Wonderful! Pyrois, a couple more things, okay?" 

"Ponnyta Pony!" 

"Wonderful! Please grab some flour, salt, baking powder, butter, vanilla and almond extract, and some almond milk. Okay? Take Lia with you if you have to. Let's go team!" They all cheered enthusiastically and got to work, mixing and chopping and measuring. 

The time was winding down and the cupcakes were just finished and they were decorating with the frosting and berries. One of the frostings turned orange from the Petaya berry, one of them turned green from the Salac berry, and the last one turned a light tan/orange from the Liechi berry. Loagn carefully placed the bits of berry into the frosting as the timer went off and the contestants had to step back from their work. As the crew member came to collect them, Logan stepped over. "The tan one is for Vol and the Altaria, the green one is for Siebold and Clawitzer, and the orange one is for Agua and her Milotic." She nodded and took the cupcakes away and took the tray to the judges' table. 

The three contestants and their pokemon stood near the edge of the stage, describing their cupcakes to the judges when their time came up. After the other two went, it was Logan's turn to tell the judges about the treats he made. "Well, the bread of the cupcakes themselves is a vanilla almond cake, which I thought would be a nice, more calm flavor in comparison with the more bold flavors of the frostings. Now, each of you has a different berry mixed in with their frostings. For Vol and your Altaria, I used a Liechi berry because I could tell your Altaria has an Adamant personality, so a more Spicy berry is perfect for you. Them for Siebold and Clawitzer I used a Salac berry for Clawitzer's Bold personality, so a Sour berry is good. And then finally for Agua and Milotic, I used a Petaya berry for Milotic's Modest nature, so they prefer more bitter berries." Logan smiled as he finished and the judges and pokemon began to eat the cupcakes. His hands were shaking behind his back, but the pleased noises of the pokemon began to set him at ease. 

"How did you know what natures our pokemon have?" Agua asked him and Logan smiled sheepishly. "Well see, I have two little sisters, and one of them has wanted to be a pokemon breeder for years, and she tells me about her methods for telling these things all the time." The judges continued to eat and confer with each other, and soon, they came up with their decision. 

"The judges have discussed, and are ready to announce the winner!" The host said excitedly and the stadium was silent in anticipation. "The contestant moving on to the freestyle round is....Logan Parker!" The spotlight hit him and he smiled, hugging his team members. 

"All right! We're taking a half hour break for the contestants to prepare final touches for the freestyle round!"


	31. Stunning Freestyle Performance

Logan reviewed the plans for the freestyle performance with his team, all of them eager to get going. They were all decorated in matching. "Okay, team, do we remember the moves?" He asked them for maybe the millionth time. Orval smiled up at him and nodded. "Okay then...let's go." He stood and they all followed him to the stage entrance. A stage hand held a hand to their headset and waited a moment before opening the door and nodding for him and his team to go. 

They walked out on stage full of cheering people. He smiled and waved as he walked to the center of the stage, getting into all their positions. The crowd silenced and the music started. It was a familiar latin dance song that he knew by heart, even before he began practicing it. He smiled and nodded to Lia who jumped up onto his back and jumped off, sparking her cheeks as she reached the air. "Lia! Use Thunderwave!" He called as his feet and hips began moving along with the music, working more on muscle memory than brain work. "Orval, protect!" A blue shield went up around them as the shocks of lightning flickered around them on the stage. "Pyrois! Fire Spin!" Logan began spinning and jumping around the circle made by Orval's protect as his ponyta sent fire spinning around them, mixing with Lia's electricity. "Lia, double team!" His pikachu duplicated herself and began dancing with him, her copies in a circle around the protect. They all dance in a synchronized way that they had seemingly rehearsed a million times, all three pokemon out in front of him while the moves still went in affect around them. "Okay! Orval! Blow it up!" The protect exploded, thrusting the electricity away from them and turning it in blue and golden sparkles. The fire whisked around them until it vanished into thin air and they struck their ending poses. 

The crowd cheered and after a moment of them catching their breath, they all bowed and walked off the stage together, smiling and waving. Only until they got back stage did they break their smiling facade. Logan slumped down onto a couch and started panting. "Here." He looked up to see Miguel handing him his orange water bottle. "Thanks." Logan replied and thankfully took the water and gulped it down. "You did an exceptional job, Mi Amado." Miguel said, looking down at Logan. Logan smiled a little and put down a bowl for his pokemon, filling it with the rest of the water from his bottle. "You insist on calling me that, don't you, Miguel." 

"Miguel! You're on standby!" A tech worker called out and Miguel nodded, stepping away. "Break a leg out there. I need some real competition from my rival, you know." Logan replied playfully. "Just you watch, Amado." 

"I will." Logan winked a bit and he didn't miss the light pink that came to Miguel's cheeks as he and his pokemon left the room. Logan did watch his rival's performance. To no surprise he was a great performer with his Alba, Atlas, and Belle. 

Finally it was time to gather all the freestyle round performers up on the stage. Logan's hands were shaking with Orval sitting beside him. 

"Well ladies and gentlemen! What did you think of all our performers!?" The host of the show called out from her platform above the performers. The crowd cheered wildly for the contestants as Logan's heart beat faster. No matter how many times he walked out onto a stage, he could never quite calm his nerves. "Okay! Now for the final judging by you, our audience! With the devices at your seats, please select the one performer who you believed gave the very best performance. Ready...Set...Vote!" Colored orbs filled the air as the crowd chose their favorites. A fair amount went to Miguel, smiling proudly as the red lights filled up his bar. Logan wished he had his friend and rival's confidence in a situation like this. He closed his eyes and held his hands together, trying to take a deep breath as he steadied his breathing. "Ladies and Gentlemen! We have a winner!" The lights turned out and several spotlights weaved around the stage in anticipation. "And the winner of this pokemon spectacular in Pintar Town is....." 

"Logan Parker and his partner Orval!" He opened his eyes in shock to see the whole crowd cheering for him, with the spotlight directly on him. He smiled and looked down at his partner, who looked up at him with bright blue and excited eyes. "We did it, Orval!" He picked up his partner and spun around with him in his arms happily. "Our second contest ribbon!" He laughed happily and took his ornate ribbon from the host and pinned it beside his first one on his jacket. "How about a round of applause for all our performers, huh?" The host smiled as the crowd gave a standing ovation for all the performers. 

Logan was waiting for his friends in the lobby of the performance hall, changed back into his normal clothes with all his makeup washed off. "Logan!" He turned and smiled when he saw Brooke, Charlie, and Jordan walking over to him. Brooke ran ahead and hugged Logan tightly. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!" 

"Thanks, Brooke!" 

"I'd never seen a contest spectacular before, that was amazing!" Jordan smiled, his hands crossed in front of him with a big smile. "I'm glad you guys enjoyed it! I had so much fun!" 

"Yes, it really seemed like it." Charles smiled. 

"Brooklyn?" They looked over and Agua was making her way over to them. "Agua!" Brooke smiled and turned to the water type gym leader. "I'm surprised to see you! You know our winner?" The turquoise haired woman smiled happily. "Yeah! I'm surprised to see you too! I didn't know you'd be judging today." 

"Don't bee too surprised, Brooke." Logan chimed in. "Agua was the one who set up contests here in Maroh." 

"You did? I didn't know that." 

"Yeah! My Dad is Wallace after all. He wasn't gonna let me get away with not performing in any contests, even away from home!" She laughed. "How have you been, Brooke?" 

"Great! I have four gym badges now." 

"Four! Look at you! You're moving right along to the Maroh League, huh." 

"You bet! Better watch out for me, Agua. I could be champion soon." 

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out." She winked and laughed. "Congrats, by the way! I can hardly wait to see ya in more contests!" Agua said to Logan before turning to Brooke one last time. "See ya at the Maroh League, Brooke!" She winked and walked off through the crowd again. 

"I can't believe I just met Agua!" She's so famous in Maroh, and Hoenn!" Logan practically squealed after the gym leader was out of earshot. "She is?" 

"Well duh, Brooke!" Logan turned to her. "Not only is she a great water type gym leader, she also holds several swimming, diving, and surfing records, and she's a talented contest performer! Almost rivaling her father."

"That is impressive." 

"I'm totally bushed. You guys wanna get somethin to eat? Dancing like that really tires someone out." 

"You don't need to ask me twice!" Brooke agreed and started out the building with her friends and their partners with them. Prizrak not missing the opportunity to flirt with Brooke as she left.

The next morning Brooke and her friends were preparing to leave Pintar Town, and were just on their way to the docs to catch the ferry to Elektrikan Town when someone came running up behind them. "Brooke! Jordan! Charlie! Wait up!" They turned to see Logan carrying Orval to catch up with them. "Hey, Logan! Something up?" 

The performer caught his breath after a moment and set down his partner. "I wanted to ask you guys something." 

"Yes? What is it?" Charles asked and stepped up beside Brooke. "You guys wouldn't happen to have room for a fourth in your crew, would you? It gets super boring traveling with just me and my pokemon." The three trainers looked around at each other, slightly surprised by his inquiry. He looked at them eagerly for their answer, and finally, Brooke turned to Logan and smiled. "We'd love to have you join us, Logan." 

"Really?" 

"Totally! You can stay in Charlie's room when we are up in Pokemon Centers."

"That'd be great! Thank you, guys! So, where are we heading now?" 

"Elektrikan Town for Brooke's fifth gym badge." Jordan replied and Logan nodded. "No time to waste, then!" 

He pushed through them to rush to the docs. "Hey! Wait up!" Brooke laughed and they all followed him to the ferry heading to the next town.


	32. The Pokemon Sanctuary

The ferry docked at Elektrikan Town that afternoon and as they were getting off Brooke got a call from Professor Pine.

"Hiya, Professor!"

"Ahh, Brooke! I'm glad you were able to answer. How is your journey coming along?"

"Great! We just arrived in Elektrikan Town."

"Even better! Why don't you come down to the river, there's something I'd like to show you I believe most of your pokemon may enjoy."

"Oh! Okay then." She hung up and turned to her friends. "Professor Pine wants us to head down to the river, he wants to show us something.

The trainers walked through the town, a large electrical plant sitting along the outskirts of the city. "I wonder what he wants us to see. This place looks like an average town to me." Logan commented with a shrug of his shoulders. "He didn't say." Brooke replied as they neared the other end of the city. "Oh hey! There's the Professor!" Jordan exclaimed as he noticed the professor talking to a young man on a footbridge. "Professor Pine!" Brooke waved as they neared him. He turned and smiled, placing his hands in his lab coat pockets.

"Hello everyone! Long time no see."

"Professor! How are you?"

"I've been good." He looked around at all of them. "Oh, hello, I don't believe we've met?"

"I'm Logan Parker! This is my partner, Orval."

"Pleasure to meet you! Why don't you all come with me. What I have to show you is in the forest a ways." He gestured to a large jeep and they all climbed in, even though they were all a bit crammed in. They started off into the woods and the professor turned around in the car to talk to them.

"So. A while ago, around the time Team Sapphire came around, I started a project to help Pokemon who were hurt, abused, abandoned, or lost. My assistants work with the Pokemon Rangers to take in any of these pokemon and send them here. Those pokemon stay however long they like. Whether its only until they're recovered, or for the rest of their lives. This is the first of many, and hopefully my lab can get the funding we need to make several more across this region, and the world." As he was talking, Brooke was distracted by a flash of light green along an old overgrown path. She craned her neck around as the jeep sped past to try and find it again, but whatever she had seen was gone. "Sorry, Professor, but where is here?" Jordan asked as she turned back around. The professor looked over his shoulder as a large glass building came into view. A proud smile came over his face as he gestured to it. "Welcome, to the Maroh Pokemon Sanctuary." The jeep rolled to a stop and they all climbed out and gazed up at the huge building in awe. It looked like a long greenhouse. The front was all brick, looking like a normal lab, but it opened up to the greenhouse in the back. "Come along, let me show you inside." He gestured for them to follow him.

The first area looked like a normal lab and office building. There were private rooms where pokemon were being treated for injuries, and where some were being fed by other scientists and lab techs, and rooms that were just normal offices. They walked down a long hallway and approached two huge glass doors. The Professor pressed his ID card to a scanner and the doors opened, bringing the scent of flowers and fresh air to all of them. They all walked through to see a whole different environment. It was it's own little environment. There was fresh grass and trees, and fresh water ponds and rivers. "Wow!"

"You made this place?"

"We did, indeed. This is where the pokemon live, and are free to wander about. This is where they live and recover." He replied as a flock of fletchling went from over their heads to a grove of fresh trees. "Professor, this place is incredible." Charlie said in amazement. "Why don't you let out your pokemon, I'm sure they'd love to roam around." The professor suggested and they all released their teams. Rip, Sophia, and Ophelia immediately went for the freshwater to play while Oshima went to the banks to watch. Hugo went to fly around, while Cooper and Ryder ran around in the soft grass. Lia stayed by Logan while Pyrois, Solomon, Firn, and Selena settled in to bask in the heat and sun coming through the glass. "They're all really enjoying this place!"

"I should hope so. We carefully crafted this place so pokemon of all variety and personality could enjoy themselves." Pine replied. Brooke looked over to see Logan fidgeting with a pokeball in his hand. "Logan? Is something wrong?"

"Well--" He sighed. "I have a delcatty in here. She's a bit uncomfortable with attention and I don't let her out very long."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. She has nothing to worry about."

"Well she's a rare coloring, so she gets nervous when people gawk at her."

"Rare coloring? What pattern does she have?" Pine asked, interested by a rare design. "She's a shiny." They all spun their heads to face him. "What? Really?"

"How'd you find her?"

"I was in the feline forest near Maskros Town, and she was pretty beat up."

"So you weren't even searching for a shiny?" Jordan asked, astonished. "The odds of that happening are 1 in 8,192!" Charlie exclaimed. "She had been abandoned by her tribe, and left on her own." Logan explained and Pine nodded. "It's unfortunate but it happens. Shiny pokemon attract the attention of predators, and trainers, and typically aren't very good at hunting since the prey always see them, so they're often cast out by their families and tribes."

"That's horrible. Logan, you know you can trust us to see her." Brooke turned to her friend and he nodded. "Right. Come on, Camilla!" He released her, and everyone was shocked by her beauty. She looked just like a normal delcatty, but her coat was yellower, and instead of purple, it was a reddish pink. "She's beautiful!"

"Oh, Brooke, Jordan, I almost forgot. Get the three pokemon I gave you, there's something they should see." They both called Rip, Oshima, and Cooper and followed the Professor through the greenhouse. They finally stopped at the riverside where a huge feraligatr was lazying in the river with a totodile. The feraligatr had a large scar along its lips and on on its right shoulder. Then, watching them from their side of the bank was a typhlosion with many small scars covering her body. Oshima and Rip suddenly got very excited and rushed over to them. The typhlosion, feraligatr, and totodile all got excited as well and greeted them happily. "This is their family."

"Their family? But I thought Feraligatr and Typhlosion were from different breeding groups."

"They are, but this Feraligatr and Typhlosion adopted them. Just because they can't have eggs, doesn't mean they can't still be in love." He smiled at them all playing around. "These two adopted these three eggs. Neither of them are really related, but they may as well be brothers."

"They make such a nice family! How did their parents get so many scars?"

"The father, Samson, went on a trainer's journey a long time ago, and they let him go so he could live here with Etna, the mother. They both wanted a family, so I requested other professors send me some eggs so they could raise them." Pine informed them. "Come on, you both should meet them." They both stepped closer and the Feraligatr climbed out of the river, towering over them both. The rest of the family looked over at them. "Oshima, you never told me you had such a cool family." Brooke smiled as she ran her hand along Etna's fur. Brooke could tell that she was strong, and although she lived here, she was still a good battler. "Quiii!" He smiled up at her and stood on his hind legs, nuzzling his mother. "Man, I've never seen a Feraligatr before, I never realized how big they are!" Jordan chuckled as Samson bent over so Jordan could pat his scales. "And who's this down here?" Brooke knelt down and pet Oshima's brother. "That's Vince. He's like his father, much more relaxed, so he doesn't battle much. We figured it was better for him to live here."

"Brooke, there's one more thing. You and Cooper follow me." Brooke left Oshima with his family and followed Professor Pine, Cooper padding enthusiastically beside her. Pine walked to the near edge of the wall where a clearing was outlined in a semicircle by trees. There was a Salamence sitting with three charmanders. "This, is Cooper's family." The four of them looked up. "They've never met Cooper, so you go over and introduce yourself to them." Brooke picked up her tiny dragon type and walked over to the family. Brooke smiled gently and sat down in the grass, putting Cooper in front of her. "Hi there. This is Cooper. He's your son." Cooper instantly jumped over to the Salamence and the three charmanders. "Those Charmanders are Cooper's sisters: Suzy, Liza, and Hazel. Then that's his mother, Audrey." The professor explained. The Salamence touched heads with Cooper, the biggest smile on her face that melted Brooke's heart. "Where's Cooper's father?" Brooke asked as a Charizard landed a few yards from them. "That's him there. His name is Bishop." The Charizard stepped over to the family, a weary look on his face. Audrey seemed to exchange some words with Bishop, pushing Cooper closer to him. Brooke figured she was telling him that Cooper was their son. Cooper looked up at them excitedly, pointing to Brooke, telling his family that she was raising him. 

Then, Brooke felt a chill down her spine when Bishop looked over at her, something polar in his gaze. "Why is he glaring at me?" Brooke asked and the Professor sighed. "He is a little distrustful, especially when it comes to his children."

"What, does he not trust me with Cooper?" Brooke asked as she stood, still not coming close to Bishop's height. His cold glare never left her. "He doesn't. Come on, we don't want to make Bishop angry."

"Shouldn't I stay and get to know them? You know, show them that I can take care of the pokemon I hatched?"

"Normally, I would agree with you, Brooklyn, but in Bishop's case, it's best to leave it be." He began walking away, and Brooke was about to follow before casting a glance back at the family. "Come find me if you need me, okay, little guy?" Brooke smiled at her Bagon, and he grinned happily at her. She could tell he was thrilled to finally be meeting his family.

Brooke found her friends sitting by the river, watching all the pokemon playing. There was a woman there that Brooke didn't recognize petting an Igglybuff. "Ah, Fe, there you are." Pine approached the woman and she stood up. She was tall and hard dark chocolate skin and short curly dark hair. She wore a pale pink short sleeved blouse under a light pink vest with light blue buttons, a reddish tie and pocket square, pale pink pants and reddish dress shoes, and a pink and blue clip in her hair. "Brooke, this is Fe, she's the gym leader in Elektrikan Town. Fe, this is Brooklyn, and her partner, Lukas. She's doing the gym challenge with her friends here." Pine introduced them and the woman smiled brightly. "Well hey there, Brooklyn!"

"You can call me Brooke. I'm excited to take your challenge!"

"I'm excited for you to battle me! I can already tell you've got a lot of spirit! But you're going to have to be careful with that partner of yours, he won't do so well against my fairy types."

"You're a fairy type trainer?" Brooke asked, somewhat nervous. Almost half her team was weak to fairy types. "You bet! I've got the strongest fairies in the whole region, so you'd better watch out." Fe winked, and just then a lab assistant rushed over to them. "Professor, that Kirlia still won't eat anything." He sighed. "Not again." He said as Fe waved to them and left the sanctuary. "What Kirlia?" Brooke asked. The others noticed the conversation and turned towards them to listen. "We brought in a Kirlia a long time ago. He was physically abused by his trainer, and naturally he's not very trusting of us. He hardly eats or sleeps, and doesn't socialize with the other pokemon." Professor Pine nodded to a Kirlia sitting against the glass wall all by himself, glaring down at the dirt. "That's him over there."

"That's awful!"

"Yeah, to think someone would do that to a poor pokemon. It's not right." Jordan chimed in. "His trainer was sent to prison for Pokemon Cruelty, but Kirlia still doesn't trust many people." Brooke looked over in that direction and headed over, "Ah--Brooke. I don't recommend that!" The professor warned from behind her, but Brooke continued regardless. The Psychic-Fairy type eyed her wearily as Brooke sat a ways from him. "Hey there." He didn't respond, but kept glaring at her. "I'm not going to hurt you." She said gently, but suddenly there was a large crash through the glass wall, and she was flung backwards. 

The outside world became muffled as a high pitched ringing filled her ears. Everything hurt, and she probably had some glass cuts everywhere. Through her blurry vision, she could see ice and water type attacks being thrown everywhere as people in blue outfits rushed the greenhouse. Team Sapphire. 

Then, everything was black.


	33. Sanctuary or Squander?

Brooke slowly opened her eyes to feel her movement restricted. She groaned from a gentle ache over her body. "Welcome back." Jordan said, looking down at her. Brooklyn sat up as best she could. She was in a metal room in the main building of the sanctuary with the other scientists and her friends, all of them were tied up in rope. "What happened?" 

"It was Team Sapphire. They burst a hole in the side of the greenhouse and came in firing attacks, rounding up all of us, and the pokemon." Charles explained from beside her. "Why? What do they want with this place?" 

"Who knows. They didn't tell us." 

Brooke looked over to the large window that overlooked the entry clearing in the greenhouse over the lake. "All the pokemon!" She was horrified to see her team huddled together with all the other pokemon. "They're still working on rounding up the rest." 

"We have to get out of here!" 

"How? We're bound in rope and Team Sapphire are all over the place." Charles responded, raising an eyebrow. "I...I don't know. Anyone got any ideas? Is there something we can use to break the glass?" 

Everyone looked around at each other, no one had any ideas. Brooke crossed her legs and bit her bottom lip in frustration. 

It felt like hours had gone by, and all Brooke could do was sit facing out the window, gazing at her pokemon being rounded up outside. She almost lost it when she saw one of them shove Cooper closer to the group, luckily Sophia was there to catch him. 

Then, the door opened, and all eyes turned to the man standing there. He was lean and tall, with neat dark blue hair, and wearing a different blue and white suit than the other grunts. He carried himself with a certain arrogance that hovered around him like a frosty wind. "Hello all." He looked around at all of them. "I am Maroon. And I am here to save your pokemon." 

"Save our pokemon?" Logan repeated, agitation in his tone. "Why, yes. Since none of you would have access to the resources needed to properly take care of them yourselves. But not to worry, once all the pokemon have been captured, we will leave this puny shelter and you unharmed. That is, if you cooperate." He added that last sentence with a threatening tone. "And if we don't?" Brooke had to be the one to ask. His eyes turned to her, but she kept her ground. "Then you, and all your pathetic friends here will be taken with us. And our boss is not as sympathetic as I am." Maroon turned to walk back out of the door, but it was locked. He pulled and pushed at the door. "What on--" 

"Smack down." A voice commanded, and then a frogadier fell from the ceiling and attacked Maroon, making him fall to the ground, unconscious. Then the source of the voice jumped from the ceiling expertly, and had a pokemon from the outside unlock the door. Brooke recognized the boy immediately. "Everest?" The former Team Sapphire member turned to her, telling his pokemon to start freeing everyone. 

The frogadier freed her and Brooke stood up. "Everest, how did you get here?" 

"There's no time for that." He shook his head and turned to his water type, and the Pangoro that had joined them. "Good job, Nagato." He said to the Fogadier. "Brooke, you know this guy?" Logan asked. "I battled him in the Bardaga." 

"You all have to get out there and free the pokemon." 

"What about you? What's going on?" 

"I'm freeing you. You really don't get that I'm with you, do you." He said to Brooke, a hint of annoyance in his tone. "I can't stay here. I'll contact you later, Brooklyn." And before anyone could say anything, his Pangoro, apparently named Panjuren, used Ice Punch on the window and it shattered, and they were gone. Brooke threw off her jacket and shoes. "Brooke! Don't!" Jordan interjected, seeing where this was going. "This is the fastest way down." 

"Brooke, the door!" 

"Nope." She simply said before getting a running start and jumping out of the second story window into the lake below. Her head breached the water, taking a deep breath, and jumping out of the water. Since the window shattered, the pokemon began fighting back against Team Sapphire. Lukas, and the rest of her team rushed to her side as she pulled herself out of the lake. "Okay!" Brooke said, gaining her breath. "All of you, get out there and fight! Cooper, I want you to find your parents. They're going to be worried about you." He nodded. "Sophia, make sure he gets to them okay." She took the small dragon type and rushed with him through the fighting. "Oshima and Solomon, go fight. You can handle yourselves." They nodded and rushed out to the battlefield. "Lukas, you ready?" 

"Umbre!" He nodded. "Good, let's go!" She jumped up and went to battling with her partner. 

The fighting went on and on, and Brooke had left the main fight to go find Cooper and ensure his safety. As she went through the trees she could hear a familiar voice crying out. Her heart stopped as she recognized Cooper's voice. She picked up her pace until she was sprinting, and finally she came out to the clearing where Cooper was getting badly beaten by two team sapphire grunts and their sneasels. Not only was it two on one, but they were ice types and had a major advantage. "Cooper!" 

"Baaagggg." 

"This is your pokemon? This is a perfect example of why Team Sapphire needs to take all your pokemon. You can't raise this puny baby right." She glared at the grunt and stepped in front of him. "Don't you dare make another move towards him!" 

There was a roar near them, and they looked up to see a huge Charizard descending on them, landing in front of Brooke and Cooper protectively. "Bishop!" He looked at Brooke over his shoulder and their eyes locked. "Charrrrr" He growled and she nodded. "All right. Go, Bishop!" He used a powerful flamethrower and practically burned the others to a crisp. Then, Brooke almost tripped when Cooper ran under her leg, starting to glow. "C-Cooper!" 

"BAAAAAAG!" He glowed entirely and his body morphed into a quadraped with a hard shell exterior. The glowing stopped, but Cooper was still pretty banged up. "SHEEELL!" He used a headbutt against them, finishing them both off. He came back to them, and instantly Brooke greeted him with a hug. "Cooper! Thank goodness! I'm so happy you're okay!"

"Sheeelllgon!" He replied happily. She stepped back from him and let his father greet him as well. "Bishop, can you take Cooper somewhere safe? I don't want him getting hurt any more." The charizard nodded and took his son onto his back, flying off with him. Brooke ran back and returned to the fighting to see that it was just about finished, and the Team Sapphire members had begun to retreat through the hole they made. 

When the last of them were gone, the sun had almost set, and only then did they all realize how exhausted they were. "Why don't you all stay here in the facility. It's the least we can do to thank you all for helping us save our sanctuary." Professor Pine offered and Brooke smiled. "Thank you, Professor. That'd be amazing." Logan replied with a tired sigh. Some other researchers moved a large truck so it was covering the hole in the glass. "I'll have you all set up." He turned to some of the other researchers and they all left to get somewhere set for them to sleep. Brooke smiled at her pokemon greeting their families. "Oshima." 

He turned to her. "Quii?" 

"Would you like to stay out here with your family tonight?" 

"Quiiiiii! Quilavaa!" He nodded excitedly and Brooke laughed. "All right, then! Cooper, would you like to sleep with your family tonight too?" 

"Sheellll!" He replied happily. "Okay then! We'll see you both tomorrow." Brooke walked inside as her pokemon called goodnights after her. Jordan turned to his water type. "Rip, you can sleep out here too, Buddy." 

"Crocaahh?" 

"Yeah, for sure. I'll pick you and Oshima up tomorrow." 

"Crocccaaaahhh!!" He jumped excitedly and rushed back to his family. 

The trainers lay on makeshift matresses on the floor and settled in for bed. "The families are so cute." Logan said as he wrapped himself in the blanket. "They are. I'm glad they both have such nice families." Jordan commented. "I can't stop thinking about that Kirlia though." 

"The one you were tying to make friends with earlier?" 

"Yeah..." 

"Well, don't lose too much sleep over it. We have a big day tomorrow. You have a gym battle." Charles reminded her as he turned down his light, Ophelia laying herself over his legs. "Yeah..." Brooke replied absentmindedly. "Umbree?" 

"Yeah. I'm okay, Lukas. Let's get some sleep." She turned out her lamp. 

Only, she couldn't sleep. While the rest of her friends and pokemon drifted off in the dark, Brooke lay awake. Suddenly, her phone buzzed next to her. 

"It's me. I said I'd contact you later." 

"Come to the abandoned path off the route." 

"Alone." 

She thought it over for a minute. Was she sure this was Everest? What if it was a trap? Quietly, she slipped out of her bed and put on her hoodie, making her way to the door. "Umm?" She turned to see Lukas lifting his head. "Everest contacted me. You coming?" she whispered back and he nodded, walking over beside her. 

The forest was eerily quiet. Only the small skuttering of rattata, or bug pokemon, were heard in the brush, along with the distant call of a hoot-hoot or noctowl. She finally found the abandoned path and saw a note pinned to the piece of wood reading "DANGER: DO NOT ENTER" 

"Keep walking, Brooklyn." 

She exchanged a look with Lukas. Brooke could tell he was having the same doubts as her, but a gnawing curiosity wasn't going to leave her alone until she could talk to him again. She crumpled the note in her pocket and continued along the path with Lukas. 

The longer she was out here, the more uncomfortable Brooke became. Something about this forest was eerie to her. Soon, she was seeing large stones covered in vine and brush. They were larger, and more frequent as she kept going. "Umbreee..." Lukas mumbled quietly as he looked around, gazing at the dark vines and large stones that were starting to look like buildings. "I know... me too, buddy." 

Then the trees started to thin out, and the ancient looking buildings became bigger, almost like temples. "Wow...What is this place?" 

"The ruins of the ancients." A voice replied and Brooke and Lukas spun around, scared out of their minds. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." 

"You startled me, Everest. What did you call me out here in the middle of the night for, anyway?" 

"I thought I told you to come alone." He said, giving a pointed look to Lukas who glared back at him. "This is as alone as I'm going to get." It took him a moment, but then he nodded his head. "Follow me." He took a few steps, but then turned to see if she was following, and she hadn't moved. "Are you coming?" 

"What is this about, Everest? If I didn't know better, I would've thought you'd call me out here for a trap." He sighed. "I need to talk to you, and I don't want anyone to overhear us. About Team Sapphire." She looking him over, then nodded before following him with Lukas walking in between them. 

Finally, Everest sat down on a large knocked over pillar, and Brooke sat near him. "Now will you tell me what's going on?" 

"In Mascros Town I told you that it wasn't the right time to tell you about what Team Sapphire was planning. Do you remember?" 

"Yeah. I do." 

"Well now it is. Their endgame is coming near, and they're even more powerful than I had anticipated they'd be." His gray eyes were serious, and they were looking off to the side, examining something invisible in the dirt. "What are they planning?" 

"I...I can't be entirely sure." 

"I thought you said you knew what they were up to." 

"I may have been a spy, Brooklyn, but I was still a grunt. The only ones who know are the elites, and the boss." 

"The elites? Who are they?" 

"You've met them. There's Rose, who tried to steal the pokemon from Professor Pine's lab. Then Beige, who you encountered with the Maroh Rangers. Then Crimson who was at Pantano Castle, then Maroon who you met the other day." She recalled all of the arrogant and vicious people she encountered on her journey. "Wait, how do you know where I met all of them?" 

"It was my job to know about you and other trainers, remember? And I was at Pantano Castle." 

"You were? I never saw you." 

"That's not important now." He said and shook his head. "You may have beaten them every time so far, but when they make their final move, I don't know if you'll be so lucky." 

"How will they suddenly be so powerful?" 

"You haven't met the boss yet." 

"The boss? Who's the boss?" 

"Not even I know. Only the elites know exactly who he is. All I know is that he doesn't play nice. He's cold and calculating, and is a force to be reckoned with all on his own." 

"So what's his plan?"

"It's hard to know. Even the elites are kept in the dark with some details. Yet they all follow him anyway. I think mostly because the whole organization is terrified of him." 

"He's really that bad?" 

"Yes. No doubt. Listen, Brooklyn, you need to be careful." He turned to look at her, and she was put off by the fear in the back of his eyes. Even Everest was terrified of this guy. "So...What do I do? How do I stop this?" He shook his head again. "You can't. The wheels are already too far in motion." 

"So what does that leave me to do? Sit back and let Team Sapphire take over the region?" She countered. "Not exactly. There's no way to stop them from starting their plan, but if we're strong enough to fight them, there could be a chance of stopping them. I don't know exactly Team Sapphire's plans, but I'm sure they can't be invincible. Brooklyn." He looked to her again, although his features showed little emotion, there was something intense in his eyes. "Be careful. Keep an eye out. Even on those closest to you." She frowned at him. "What exactly are you saying, Everest?" 

"I'm not accusing anyone of anything. But I've noticed some strange things. There are things that you need to be prepared for." He stood. "How can I be prepared for what you won't tell me?" 

"I'm just here to warn you, Brooklyn. Besides, it's not my place to tell you." He began to walk away, but Brooke stood. "Everest wait!" He turned his head and stopped, not fully turning to her. "What am I supposed to do? What aren't you telling me?" 

"That's all I can say. You should stick around a little longer. There's someone here who wants to see you." He released his Crobat and lifted one arm, being carried off into the dark. "Umbreee..." Lukas looked up at her, but Brooke didn't reply. She looked ahead with a frown clear on her face. "Let's look around, Lukas." She said absently and looked around, picking a direction and walking in it. 

"I don't remember hearing anything about these ruins. Theo for sure would have mentioned something like this. He loves this kind of thing." Brooke said as she gently removed a vine to reveal some ancient letters into a carving. They continued walking, looking around in only the light from Lukas' rings, and the moon high above them. They rounded a corner and entered what looked like it used to be a temple. It was pitch black. "Lukas, can you light it up a bit more?" 

"Bre." Lukas strained a little bit, and his rings got much brighter, lighting up the whole room. Brooke gasped at the huge carving in front of her, that was borderline a work of art. "What... What is this?" Brooke took a slow step forward. There was a giant winged pokemon etched into the wall, hovering high above the ground. It looked like it was blowing over buildings and people, causing a mass destruction. Brooke's mouth dropped open as she stared at the history before her. "Is this...What happened here?" She reached out to touch the ancient stone, but just as she was about to, Brooke felt a presence in the room with her. She turned and her breath hitched in her throat at the small green pokemon hovering in the room behind her and Lukas. 

"Biii..." 

"You're...You're Celebi." A small smile came to their face and they blinked slowly. "Are you who Everest was talking about?" Brooke turned to fully face it, and it floated closer to her and nodded. "What is it you need to tell me?" Celebi held out their small arm, and Brooke somehow understood. Brooke closed her eyes and leaned forward. Celebi touched Brooke's forehead. Instantly, she felt a wave of relief, and some sort of relaxation at the legendary pokemon's touch. But it only lasted a moment. Suddenly Brooke was filled with anxiety and fear and pain. There were flashes in her vision. The rooftop of a castle. A bristling cold wind, and snow filling the air. A man's voice. The cries of people and pokemon. Her friends shouting to her. A large, burly man in a thick winter coat with his back to her. And a beast of a pokemon, with icy blue beating eyes that sent fear coursing through her. 

When Brooke opened her eyes, she felt weak. Her knees gave out and she knelt to the ground on her hands and knees, gasping for air, and feeling tears down her face. "Bre! Umbre!" Lukas rushed over to her to examine her. Brooke slowly shifted herself onto her legs and looked up at Celebi, who lowered themselves to eye level. They looked apologetic for making Brooke see that. "Is...Is this was Everest was talking about?" Brooke asked, her voice shaking. The look in Celebi's eyes answered her. "I see." Brooke nodded in understanding. 

"I'll be ready then." She said as she regained her composure, rubbing the tears from her face. Celebi nodded with a small smile and tapped Brooke's and Lukas' heads, and suddenly, they were back in the room in the Sanctuary where all her friends slept. She exchanged a look with Lukas and he rubbed his head on the palm of her hand comfortingly. "Thank you." She said softly and ran her hand along his smooth fur and settled into bed.


	34. Coming Out of the Shell

Brooke woke up to Logan shaking her gently awake. "Huh? What?" 

"You're sleeping later than usual, Brooke. You good?" Jordan asked as he put on his top from behind Logan. "Uh-yeah. I'm fine. Just didn't sleep well." Brooke slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes, images from the vision last night still flickering in her mind. Logan stood up and placed his hands on his hips. "Charlie and I will be in the sanctuary, you two should meet us there." He smiled at them and turned and walked out the door. Brooke got up out of bed and grabbed her clothes from her bag, but paused a moment to take a deep breath. "You okay, Brookie? You're quiet." Jordan asked, worried. "I'm fine, don't worry." She smiled a bit, but there was minimal effort, and she knew she wasn't fooling her best friend. Normally, she'd tell Jordan everything, but this was too sensitive. Everest was really serious last night. "Are you sure? It really doesn't seem like it." He put on his leather bracelet and paused, looking at her worriedly. "I'm just tired. No sleep last night and all." He still looked skeptical. "Really, Jordan, I'm okay." She smiled a little better this time and took her things to the bathroom to get changed before he could ask again. 

When she got back out, she went straight to the sanctuary to see Oshima's and Cooper's families playing by the river while a bunch of workers fixed the hole in the glass. Oshima and Cooper greeted her excitedly. "Hey there, you guys! Did you like being with your families last night?" 

"Quiiiilava!" 

"Sheeel!" They replied at the same time, excitement more than evident in their voices. "Good!" Brooke smiled. Around her team she could distract herself from the worries in her head. "Ahh, good to see you all up." They turned to see Professor Pine approaching them. "Good morning, Professor." 

"How are all the pokemon doing after yesterday?" Jordan asked, and the casual smile on Pine's face fell a bit. "Some of them are taking it hard. Many of them were rescued from Team Sapphire, and to see them again really hurts them. We're trying to help them recoup back to their normal selves." 

"We'd be willing to help you, Professor." Brooke offered, and he looked over to her. "Really? Don't you have a gym battle coming up?" 

"That can wait another day. These pokemon are more important." Brooke smiled, and Pine nodded. "That would be very helpful. There's food along that wall there. Could you go around and try to find the type of pokemon it's for and feed them? Be gentle, many of them are shaken." They all nodded and went to pick up some foods. Brooke instantly reached for the one with "Kirlia" labeled on it. "You're going to try and talk to that Kirlia again?" Charles asked, and Brooke nodded. "Yeah. I don't know...There's something about him that interests me. I want to bond with him." She smiled at him and walked off to find him. She walked through the brush and heard a pokemon training from a distance. Upon scanning the area, she saw Kirlia hitting a large rock. Brooke walked towards him and he turned, defensive when he heard her approaching. He relaxed a bit when he saw it was only her, but Brooklyn could tell he was on edge. 

"Hi there." Brooke greeted him gently and sat gross-legged in the grass, setting the bowl in front of her. "I'm Brooke. I'm sorry we didn't get the chance to really meet the other day." He was quiet, and watched her as she poured the food into the bowl. "Team Sapphire can really be a pain, can't they." Her smile faded a bit as the images replayed themselves again. She finished pouring the food and sealed the lid again. "But there's no need to worry with you here, right? You seem strong." She smiled and pushed the bowl towards him a bit. "Look, I'm sorry about your previous trainer. No one should ever have to go through anything like that." Brooke looked him in the eyes, to make sure he knew she was being honest. "You know, Sophia, my floatzel, was abandoned by her trainer. In a Pokemon Center, all by herself. I just...I'll never understand what compels people to hurt pokemon." She was so wrapped up in talking to him, that she didn't even notice he had begun eating. "We share this world with pokemon; they're our friends. We care for each other. And you don't hurt people you care about, you know?" He was watching her intently, slowly eating the food. "I'm doing the gym challenge, you know. It's a lot of fun. You get to make new friends, and meet new people. And one day, I'm going to be the champion, and get to share my strength with others, just like a proper trainer should. And it may not be this time, but I know I'll never stop until I'm the champion of somewhere, and I can inspire others. Just like other champions have inspired me." She smiled a bit, and began plucking at the grass in front of her. "And I'm going to get there with my team. With Lukas, with Oshima and Sophia, and Solomon, and Cooper too. We're all going to be in this together. And we'll protect each other, and our friends. Nothing can make us turn on each other." She looked back up at Kirlia who had finished his food, and was staring at her. "Oh, haha, sorry, I was rambling." Carefully, she reached over and grabbed the bowl from in front of him and stood up. "I hope you get to have something like that some day too, Kirlia. You're a good pokemon, and a better trainer deserves that." She smiled and walked back towards the front. 

When she got back, she handed the food and bowl back to one of the lab assistants. She looked at the empty bowl in astonishment. "Wait, you gave this to Kirlia?" 

"Yeah?" 

"You gave him a full bowl, right?" 

"Yeah." Brooke raised an eyebrow, wondering what this assistant was so excited about. "He ate all of it?" 

"Yeah. Why?" 

"He hardly eats, if he eats at all. But you got him to eat a full bowl! How'd you do that?" Brooke shrugged. "I don't know. I was just talking to him, and by the time I was done he had finished." 

"Talked to him? What did you say?" Professor Pine asked as he walked over. "I don't really know. I was just rambling to him. I think I was talking about my team, and being the champion or something." Brooke shrugged again. "I don't think he was even listening to me." Pine furrowed his brow and examined the bowl, as if in thought about something. "I'm going to go talk to Cooper's family." Brooke broke the silence and walked over to where Cooper was playing with his family. 

They all looked up and smiled as Brooklyn made her way to them. Cooper greeted her excitedly as she sat in the grass. She laughed. "Even though you've evolved into a Shelgon, you're still so excitable! Are you going to be like this as a Salamence too?" She teased him with a laugh and he fumbled himself into her lap. "That's my little guy! Who was a good fighter yesterday? You were! Who knows, maybe I'll even have you fight in my gym battle, hm? How does that sound?" 

"Sheeell!!" He replied excitedly and Brooke laughed again. Cooper's sisters jumped all over Brooke and their brother excitedly. "What, you want to see your brother in a real gym battle? I don't know if the Professor will let you all come. If you all come, then Oshima's whole family will have to come too." They all whined. "Okay, little ones, I'll see what I can do." Brooke chuckled and they all cheered. As they continued to climb on top of each other, and Brooke, she looked up at Aubrey and Bishop, Cooper's parents, and smiled softly. "You have a wonderful son. He's very spirited and strong." She looked over at Bishop specifically. "I know he'll be a great battler just like you one day." Brooke may have been seeing things from her lack of sleep, but she could have sworn that she saw a small smile come to Bishop's stoic face. Aubrey leaned her head on Bishop in a loving gesture. Brooke smiled again and turned her attention back to Cooper's family. 

Day turned to evening and all the trainers and their pokemon were relaxing in the sanctuary. Brooke smiled at the families near them. "I have to say, I'm going to feel a little bad continuing on the journey and bringing Oshima and Cooper with us." Brooke said to her friends. "Yeah, I feel the same way. Rip looks so happy with the family. One day, I think he's going to look just like his adopted dad here." 

"He'll never be that relaxed, Jordan." Logan replied and they all laughed a bit, and Jordan rubbed the back of his neck. "I suppose you're right. I guess it's just my wishful thinking." 

"At least you only have one pokemon with that kind of personality. It's almost like Ophelia and Selena are out to get me." 

"Professor! A little help here!" A lab assistant broke the silence by calling out to the Professor. The poor lab assistant was trying to calm down a skarmory, who looked a little smaller than average. "I'm coming, I'm coming." The Professor called, and looked to the teenagers. "Charles, do you mind helping me with this one?" 

"Me, Professor?" Charles seemed a bit surprised that Pine would ask for his help over the other's. "Yes, please." Charles stood up and brushed himself off before following Pine. The others watched from a distance. "This Skarmory is a bit adventurous, and it's hard to get him to calm down and eat his food. Here." The Professor handed Charles a thick glove, and he put it on. "Adventurous?" 

"Yes. He was bred here in the sanctuary with his family, but he's always been so interested in going outside. So we have to be sure the glass is always sealed so he doesn't escape and get himself into trouble." The lab assistant was finally able to grasp Scarmory and he gently placed him on Charle's gloved arm. Although it looked like steel, the pokemon was actually quite light, and seemed to relax next to Charlie. "Huh, I think he likes you, Charles." Pine smiled as he handed some food to Charlie. "Here, put your hand out and Skarmory will bend down to eat it." Professor Pine instructed him. Something about the Skarmory felt familiar to Charles. "I know how you feel, Skarmory. Wanting to adventure out of your home." Skarmory looked over to Charles with big, curious eyes. "I felt a little trapped in my home too, even though it was big, I wanted to be outside and see Maroh. You feel that way too, don't you Skarmory?" 

"Skaaarr." Charles smiled, taking that as affirmation. "Professor. Is Skarmory able to come on a journey?" Charles asked and Skarmory perked up, looking eagerly to the Professor for his reply. Pine nodded and smiled. "He is. You want to take him?" 

"Yes, Professor. I want to give Skarmory the same chance I had. So it's alright if I take him with me?" 

"If it's okay with Skarmory." Charles and Skarmory faced each other again, and Charles called to Logan to bring him a pokeball from his bag. Charlie took the device and held it in his hand. "Well, Skarmory? Do you want to travel with me?" 

"Skaaa!" He screeched and touched the button with his long beak and went inside. He shook once or twice, and then was caught. "Great job, Charlie!" Brooke called to him, giving him a thumbs up. "Is that the first pokemon you've caught on your journey?" Logan asked. "He is. How about I name him...Axel?" 

"That's a great name!" 

"Well, Axel? Do you like that name?" Charles asked to the pokeball, and it moved in his hand, and Charles could feel that his new team member approved. Charles rejoined his friends, and they all gave him congratulations until someone interrupted them. "Kirl! Kirlia!!" They turned to see Kirlia standing behind them, looking right at Brooke. "Kirlia? What's wrong?" She asked. "I've never seen him so worked up before." Pine commented. Kirlia pointed to her. "Kirl! Kirl Kirlia!" Brooke smiled. "I see. You want to join me, don't you?" 

"Kirl!" He nodded. "Okay, then, let's--" She took out a pokeball, but Kirlia used Psychic and smashed it against the ground. "Um--okay? What was that?" Jordan laughed as Kirlia got into a fighting stance. "Brookie, I think Kirlia wants to battle first. You know, to test your strength." She looked at the pokemon before her. "Is that right, Kirlia? You want to battle me first?" 

"Kirl! Kirlia!" Brooke smiled. "Alright then. Sophia, you wanna help me with this?" 

"Floatzeel!" She nodded excitedly and jumped in between them, low to the ground in a battle stance. Kirlia jumped forward, thrusting leaves at their direction with a Magical Leaf. "Sophia, dodge it!" She was able to dodge most of the attack, but some were able to get her. "Sophia, use Ice punch!" Her fist turned to ice and she charged at Kirlia, but he stopped her midway and his eyes glowed brightly with psychic. He threw her and she landed into the river. "Sophia! Water gun!" Sophia leaped out of the river and sent water flying at him before he could stop her. He used Confusion and landed attacks. "Sophia! Use swift!" Kirlia was about to dodge it, but was too slow, and was flung back. He was slow to get up and Brooke took out a pokeball from her belt. "All right! Here we go!" She threw the device and it hit Kirlia, taking him in. It rolled several times before it clicked in the grass. 

Brooke rushed over, smiling ear to ear. She looked down at the pokeball. "How about I call you Gawain?" The ball shook a bit. "Wonderful, Brooke! I think the two of you will make fine teammates." Pine smiled. "I hope so. I just want to be a better trainer to him than his last one. He deserves it." 

"Well, why don't you all go get some sleep." 

"Yeah, Brooke, you'll need it for tomorrow. You're finally challenging the gym leader." 

"Oh right! Yeah! Let's go!"


	35. Fe

Brooke woke up excited the next morning. "I wonder what Pokemon Fe will have! I'm so excited!" 

"Aren't you a little nervous? Two of your main teammates are weak to fairy types." Charles reminded her, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes as they made their way to the gym. "Sure. But I have Sophia, Oshima, Solomon, and now Gawain!" She turned to him and smiled. "I'm not worried." 

"Even though you did minimal planning for your strategy." Jordan chimed in. "Hey, as long as I'm winning, it doesn't matter much." She shrugged. "I don't know, Brooke, I always have to do lots of planning for my contests." 

"Yeah, but battling is all about your gut. As long as you've got good instincts, you're set to go." 

"I don't know, Brooke..." 

"Don't worry, Charlie, I'll be fine." She smiled at him as they approached the gym. It was a long building with pink tinted reflective glass. "Wow. This is the gym? It's so pretty." 

"Let's go! I can hardly wait any longer!" Brooke stepped up to the doors and pushed them in. It was a small room with the reception desk and large pink doors. They all made their way over and Brooke took a deep breath. "Let's do it." She opened the doors and they were met with a grassy battlefield, and a large amount o natural light. There were plenty of people in the stands, and Fe was standing on the opposite end waiting for them. There were pots of pink and white flowers dangling from vines and from the ceiling giving everything a very ethereal feel. Jordan, Charlie, and Logan went off to the stands to watch, and Brooke stepped onto the amazingly soft grass with Lukas. "Welcome to my gym, Brooke." Fe said with her fun, yet soft voice. "Hey Fe! I'm ready to challenge you!" 

"Great. Cause I'm ready to accept." 

"This will be a four-on-four battle. The match will be over when either side is out of able pokmeon. Substitutions are allowed. Now, release your first pokemon." 

Fe reached to her pocket and pulled out a love ball. "Let's show her what we've got, Ribombee!" She released the bug and fairy type and Brooke couldn't help but smile. "Then let's match them up, Oshima!" She threw the pokeball and released her fire type. Suddenly, there were loud pokemon calls in the stadium. She looked over to see Oshima's and Cooper's families in the stands with Professor Pine. Oshima's family was cheering loudly for him. "Just because you have a loud cheering section, doesn't mean you'll be the victors." Fe said with a playful tone. "Battle begin!" The ref yelled. 

"Ribombee, fairy wind!" 

"Oshima, counter use flame wheel!" The attack landed and did a considerable amount of damage. "Great job!" 

"Quiii!" He smirked and lowered himself to the ground in preparation. "Ribombee, draining kiss!" 

"Oshima, smokescreen!" He clouded the field in smoke, hiding himself from his opponent. "Now flame wheel again!" The attack hit, and with one more, the Ribombee was out. "Okay, Brooke. Don't get cocky. Here we go, Clefairy!" She released her next pokemon. "Oshima, good job! Return." She brought him back and took out another pokeball and smiled. "This is our first battle together, let's make it count." She said quietly to it. "Go Gawain!" She threw out her newest pokemon and he took a battle pose. "So, you caught that Kirlia from the Pokemon Sanctuary, huh?" Fe asked, a smile on her face. "Yep! And he didn't make it easy, either." Brooke smiled. "Clefairy, use metronome!" 

The opponent's fingers started glowing white, and a bone appeared in its hand. "Gawain! Counter with Psychic!" Clafairy stopped mid attack, and was thrown against the wall. "Great job!" 

"Minimize, Clafairy! Then use wake up, slap!" 

"Gawain, use magical leaf!" But Clafairy's evasiveness had risen, and it was able to avoid the attacks too easily. It appeared in front of Gawain and slapped him across the face multiple times. "Gawain! Confusion!" Clafairy was hit, and suddenly became confused. "Clafairy, no! Use Disarming voice!" Clafairy only hit themselves, and was now on its last legs. "Magical leaf again!" The attack was a success, and Clafairy was on the ground. "Great job, Gawain!" 

"All right, then. Let's see how you fair against my Floette!" She released a white flower Floette that glared down Gawain from across the field. "Gawain, magical leaf!" 

"Floette, counter with your own!" The two moves cut across each other, but Floette had more of their strength, so Gawain took a large hit. "Now use razor leaf, Floette!" 

"Dodge it!" Most of the leaves hit him, and Brooke could tell Gawain was having a hard time hanging on. "Hang in there! Use Psychic!" Gawain levitated the small fairy type and smashed it against the ground, but it used its flower to block most of the blow. "Dazzling gleam!" the floette made a rainbow colored sphere, and launched it at Gawain, and he fell to the ground. "Gawain, return." She returned him to his pokeball and whispered to it. "You fought well, rest now." She set him back on her belt and debated for a minute, then sent out her next pokemon. "Let's go, Solomon! You've got this!" She released her Luxio, and he growled at the Floette. 

"Okay, Solomon! Use bite!" He lunged forward and bit down on the small pokemon, throwing it away from him harshly. "Floette! Use fairy wind!" A bristling pink wind flew through the stadium, and once it was over, Solomon was still standing there, hardly fazed. "Yeah! That's my boy! Use ice fang!" The attack was a hit, and he jumped back again, out of range. "Floette! Dazzling gleam! Give it all you got!" Brooke could tell that Solomon was having a tough time. "Hang on, Solomon!" Suddenly, he started to glow. His body grew taller and stronger, his black mane grew out and his tail became longer. The glowing stopped and the dazzling gleam dissipated. He smirked and lashed his tail. "Rayyy." 

"Solomon! You evolved! Great job!" 

"Luxrrayy!" 

"Thunder! Let's go!" The electricity shot out of him and went directly to Floette, fainting it. "All right!" 

"Very nice, Brooklyn. But can you get past my strongest pokemon?" Fe asked, she was smirking, which made her nervous. "Come on, Pix!" Fe threw out a pokeball and released a sylveon. "Pix! Use swift!" 

"Solomon, use thunder!" 

"Now Pix, dazzling gleam!" It was a great hit, but Solomon was strong. "Pix, attract!" 

"Attract!?" The sylveon winked at Solomon and made a cute pose, and suddenly Solomon couldn't take his eyes off her. "Solomon, come on, snap out of it!" But he wouldn't move. Brooke growled. "Draining kiss, Pix!" The sylveon planted a quick kiss on Solomon's cheek, and stole his remaining energy. He fell to the ground, and Pix healed herself. "Ughhh. You fought well, Solomon, return." She placed him back on her belt. "Come on out, Oshima!" He came back out. "Quick! Use flame wheel! Then use swift!" The attacks were both hits. "Pix! You use swift right back!" 

"Counter with your own, Oshima!" They two collided, but Pix was hit with more. "Flame wheel again!" Brooke commanded. She had to get in as many hits as she could before Fe decided to use Draining kiss or attract again. This did it. Pix fell to the ground. "The gym leader's pokemon are no longer able to battle. The challenger and her pokemon are the winners!" 

"Oshima! We did it!" Brooke rushed out to the scarred field and picked up her Quilava, hugging him tightly. "Quiiii!" He nuzzled her cheek happily. "Great job!" Her friends joined her on the field, and so did Professor Pine with Oshima's family. When the small fire type noticed his family, he jumped out of her arms and rushed over to them. "Congratulations, Brooke." Charlie smiled at her. "See? I told you guys I'd be fine." She told them confidently. "Brooke." She turned to see Fe standing there with a small pink glass box in her hand. She opened it and held it out to the trainer. "Here, you've earned it." It was a rose gold badge in the shape of fairy wings with a gold outline. "It's the Pixie badge. You've defeated your fifth gym." 

"Thank you, Fe!" Brooke took the badge and placed it in her case. "Where are you going next?" 

"I'm not sure." 

"Well then, I'll suggest Vol in Histo City. She's a strong and capable flying type trainer, and a great friend of mine. She'd make a great sixth challenge." 

"Thank you, Fe. We'll head that way, then!" 

"Good luck to you all! I look forward to seeing you all again. Particularly at the Maroh League." She winked at Brooke and smiled. "For sure! I'll see you then, Fe." Brooke smiled and walked out of the gym with her friends, and Oshima and Rip said goodbye to their families so they could continue to the next town.


	36. The Crystal City

The route between Elekritkan Town and Bistre City was the most beautiful yet. Surprisingly, Brooke was the first to wake up that morning at their campsite sitting along the beach. She stared out at the sun rising over the bright blue water and smiled. The ocean almost looked like glass, and the humidity was finally calming down, shaping up to be a nice day. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Brooke looked over to see Charles stepping up beside her. She smiled softly at him. "Yeah. I've been all over the region now, and I feel like this is the most beautiful bit of the ocean I've seen." Charles nodded. "This coast is known for being especially beautiful."

"It's hard to believe I've been away from home for so long."

"Do you miss your family?" He asked and Brooke shrugged, looking down at the sand. "Now and then. Especially on moments like this."

"Right..." Charles looked over at Brooke and his heart nearly stopped in his chest. The sun made Brooke glow a soft yellow, making the bright blue of her eyes dance even brighter than the ocean they were gazing at. The gentle breeze made her bronze colored hair swirl around her face, as if in slow motion. He swallowed and looked back out ahead before she noticed he was staring at her. He wanted to enjoy this moment with her. Just the two of them, before the others woke up and they'd have to hit the road again.

"Brookie!!" Jordan broke the peaceful silence and nearly tackled Brooke from behind in a big hug. "Happy Birthday!!" She laughed and forced her best friend off of her as Logan walked up behind them. "It's your birthday?" Charles asked and Brooke smiled sheepishly. "Yep! I'm nineteen today!"

"Why didn't you tell us, Brooklyn?" Logan asked, placing his hands on his hips. "I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Come on, we should be heading to Bistre City." Jordan and Logan went to pack up, but as Brooke was going to help, she turned to the brunet boy. "Hey Charlie?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for talking with me." She smiled cheerily and followed her other friends. "You're welcome..."

They all packed up and continued on their way up the cliff, and were not disappointed when they finally arrived in Bistre City. It was as if the whole town was carved out of white marble that overlooked the shore with beautiful stone streets, giving the city a cute and mellow atmosphere. "This place is beautiful! I've never seen anything like it." Logan breathed in amazement as he looked around. "This city used to be a wealthy mining town, where all kinds of precious stones were dug out of the cliffs. Because of that, and the clear blue water, it's called the Crystal City." Charles informed them. "We should go down to the beach!" Logan exclaimed excitedly. "There isn't a gym here, so we may as well." Brooke smiled. "Well we should check in at the Pokemon Center first and get ready, then we'll head down."

They arrived in the Pokemon Center, and Brooke split from the group to call Theodore and her father. "Happy birthday, Brooke." Her father greeted her after picking up the phone. "Happy birthday, loser!" Theo added and Brooke laughed. "Thanks you two! I'm sorry I can't be home with you guys."

"Don't worry about it. Where are you right now?"

"I'm in Bistre City. I just beat Fe in Elektrikan Town!" Brooke smiled. "Great job, Brooklyn!"

"Is Bistre City as beautiful as they say it is?" Theo asked and Brooke nodded. "Even more so. It's almost unreal. We're actually going to go down to the beaches after I'm done here."

"Good! Be sure to get home soon so I can give you your birthday present, or I may just keep it for myself." Theo teased and Brooke stuck her tongue out at him. "Not if I have anything to say about it, nerd!"

"Okay, okay, if you two are going to keep going, I'm going to leave." Her father cut in before they continued their teasing. "We won't keep you any longer. Go have fun, Brooklyn." She smiled. "Okay. I'll talk to you both soon. Love you guys."

"Love you, loser."

"Love you too, Brooke." They all said goodbye and hung up. The screen turned to black and Brooke stared at her reflection in the screen for a moment, willing her brother and father to pop through the screen and be with her.

But a commotion behind her turned her attention from the screen. There were some kids gathered around a taller woman wearing a blue halter midriff top, jean shorts, sandals, and a sun hat that Brooke recognized instantly. She exchanged an excited look with Lukas and they headed over to her together. "Alex!" Brooke called as she approached. The woman looked up and smiled at her and dismissed the children. "Brooke! Good to see you! I haven't seen you since your challenge against Fuego."

"And now I have two more gym badges! How have you been? Oh! Hey December!" Brooke smiled at Alex's absol beside her. "I'm well! And I see Lukas has evolved too, how marvelous!" The woman smiled, her Kalosian accent coming through. "What brings you to Bistre City?" Brooke asked. "Business mostly." Alex replied with an eye roll. "Do you know the former Champion of the Hoenn region?" Alex asked and Brooke nodded. "Steven Stone?"

"That's the one. He's here to meet with the League Association, and is a good friend of mine. Perhaps you should meet him while you're here." Brooke's jaw dropped excitedly. "Meet Steven Stone!? I'd love to! Oh-- My friends can meet him too, right?" Brooke asked as she noticed her friends leaving the front desk, and she waved them all over. "Of course they can."

"Alex?"

"Hello again, Jordan." Charles and Logan had looks of shock on their faces. "Charles, Logan, this is Alex, the Maroh Champion. Alex, these are two of my friends I'm traveling with. Charlie, and Logan."

"Nice to meet you both! Any friends of Brooke are friends of mine!" Alex greeted them. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Alex."

"Wow! I can't believe I'm meeting the Maroh Champion and Kalos League finalist! Hi!" Logan said excitedly and Alex laughed. "You've done your research."

"Alex was just saying that she wants to introduce us to the Hoenn Champion."

"Wallace is here!?" Logan's pale eyes nearly burst from their sockets. "Er--former Hoenn Champion. Steven Stone." Brooke clarified, but Logan still looked winded. "I didn't prepare for this! Is my hair okay? Do I have anything in my teeth?" Brooke laughed and turned to Alex. "Logan gets a little excited around celebrities."

"I'm used to it, no worries. Are you all staying here while you're in Bistre City?"

"I was about to check us in to the center when I saw Brooke talking to you."

"Well why don't you all stay with me? I have a house here and a private stretch of beach."

"Oh, no, we wouldn't want to impose on--" Charles began and Logan turned to him. "Charles. Shut up." He said pointedly and turned to Alex. "We would love to! Thank you!" Alex laughed a bit. "Come on, then, I'll take you all with me to meet Steven." She led them out of the pokemon center and Logan held up his phone, fixing his hair in the reflection as Brooke snickered at him.

Alex took them to a small park near the cliff overlooking the ocean. There was a tall man standing there in a black suit with purple and silver accents. He was pale and had light blue colored hair, and eyes the color of dawn stones. Logan's breath audibly hitched in his throat upon seeing him. "Steven!" Alex greeted him excitedly. He turned to them. "Alex. There you are, it's about time."

"Oh quiet, you." She brushed his annoyance off playfully and stepped aside to show off the trainers. "I have some people I'd like you to meet." She gestured to them all as she introduced them "This is Charles, Logan, Jordan, and Brooke. They're all travelling around Maroh. This is the former Hoenn Champion, Steven Stone."

"You're very funny, Alex." He said deadpanned, shooting a look at Alex for that emphasis on "former". He turned to the trainers again. "Are any of you competing in gyms?" Steven asked. "I am." Brooke spoke up and he smiled. "How many gym badges do you have now?"

"I'm on my way to get my sixth."

"Well, your team must be very capable, then. Yes. I can tell now. You have that look in your eyes." Before Brooke could ask him what he meant, he turned to Logan. "You have an aron!" Steven exclaimed excitedly. "Y-Yeah! His name is Orval."

"Do you mind if I take a look at him?"

"Please do!" Steven reached down and picked up Logan's partner. Logan looked like his spirit was about to leave his body. "You take very good care of him! He's very healthy and strong."

"Thank you! I polish him at least once a week to ensure his coat is always strong and shiny."

"Yes, I can tell! I am a bit of a steel type expert. I love steel and rock type pokemon. They're so unique."

"Nerd!" Alex exclaimed between fake coughs that seemed to diminish Steven's enthusiasm a bit. Steven placed Orval back on the ground in front of Logan. "We should be heading back to my house. I'll lead the way." Alex interjected and Steven followed her. Once they were out of earshot Logan gripped Brooke's shoulder. "He is such a dreamboat!" Logan gasped. "Logan, he's like 25." Jordan raised an eyebrow at their friend. "Yeah, and I'm nineteen. So what."

"We should be going." Brooke said with a bit of a chuckle and they all hurried a bit to catch up with the two champions.

When Alex said she had a house by the beach, they were all expecting something a little smaller than the mansion they showed up to. "You all can use two bathrooms. One down the hall by the kitchen there, and one next to my study down there. Steven and I will see you all out on the beach. The doors are through the kitchen." Alex explained when they all got inside. "Alex, I thought we were going to discuss our meeting, not relax by the beach." Steven protested. "Oh come on, Steven, don't be such a stick in the mud, a little relaxation wouldn't kill you."

"No but it may kill you."

"Oh can it." She brushed him off and began dragging him outside. "See you all out there!"

"Logan and I will go to this one and change, you two go to the other one by the study." Jordan said and he and Logan went off near the kitchen.

Brooke volunteered to change first, but was having trouble getting the bandages off her arm. "Why did Jordan have to make these so tight?" She hissed in irritation and glanced up at the door. She bit her bottom lip as she debated asking Charles to help her. She opened the door a bit. "Hey Charlie?"

"Yes?" He turned to her. "Can you help me with these?" She pointed to the bandages, and Charles' eyes went wide. "Brooke! What happened!?"

"I'll tell you while you help me get them off." He stepped inside the bathroom and began working off the bandages carefully as Brooke explained what happened with the pyroar. He listened to her intently as she told the story. When she was finally finished, he looked up at her and sat back a little. "Brooke, that's incredible." 

"What?"

"Well--I don't mean it like that. I mean--that was incredibly brave what you did."

"You think so?"

"Who wouldn't? You jumped into the line of attack of another pokemon, to save another pokemon that you didn't even know that well. What else do you think made Solomon want to join you so bad?" Brooke looked down, deep in thought. "I...I guess you're right."

"Had you really never thought of it that way?"

"Honestly? No. I've always been a little embarrassed of it." She looked away. "I don't know. Now that I say it out loud, it sounds silly."

"Brooklyn." She looked back over at him, to see an intensity in his hazel eyes. "What you did is something hardly anyone would do. That was incredibly brave and selfless, and I think you should wear this scar with pride. What you did was amazing."

"I..." She smiled ever so slightly. "Thank you, Charles..." He nodded and finished removing the bandages from her arm. "There. Finished. I'll see you outside." He stood again and left the bathroom.


	37. The Beach Episode

Charlie didn't see Brooke when she got out of the bathroom, but he could see her now. She was wearing a purple two piece swimsuit and was in the shallow water, splashing with Logan. The water sparkled as it flew around her as she laughed. 

Oh goodness above, he was in trouble. 

He was snapped out of his daze when Jordan came up from behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "When you're done staring at Brooke, why don't you come relax with us." Jordan teased. "Wh-What? I don't know what you mean." 

"Right." Jordan said with a wink and smirked, walking to join his other friends on the beach. "Wah-Wait, Jordan!" Charles blushed and rushed after him. 

Suddenly, Brooke rushed over to her bag. "I can't believe I didn't do this earlier!" She threw all her pokeballs in the air, releasing the rest of her team. Soon, all of her friends did the same. Sophia, Rip, and Ophelia all went right to the water to play. Lukas played in the shallows with April. Ryder, Cooper, Pyrois, and Orval all began playing together on the beach, while Solomon, Selena, Camilla, Titus, and Oshima curled up in different spots in the sand to relax. Axel and Hugo were gliding on the sea breeze and Firn and Lia watched Hades dig in the sand. 

Alex smiled from the towel she was sitting on, and decided to do the same. December was sitting beside her, and her lapras was sent out into the water, her lucario sat by the water, her noivern went to fly with Axel and Hugo, and her charizard relaxed in the sand with her riachu. 

Steven came out to join them a while later. "Alex, I thought you said you would only be out here a moment. That's why I got started on my work. You were supposed to join me." He reprimanded her. "Yeah, but it's so nice out here. I told you to join me but you insisted on working. Like a nerd." 

"Alexandrea--" 

"That's not my name." 

"--The meeting is in two days, we need to get this done." She finally lowered her sunglasses and turned to look at him. "Steven. You may be a stubborn tauros, but at least let your team relax a little." He sighed, like he knew she was right. He took out his pokeballs, and released his pokemon onto the beach: a skarmory, an aggron, a metagross with a metagorssite, a claydol, a cradily, and an armaldo. "Do you promise to do your work some time today?" 

"Only if you relax here on the beach with me." He rolled his eyes. "Fine, only for a little bit." 

"Yay!" He sat on the towel, and at first he seemed annoyed, but then he began to really relax. 

The rest of the day was spent playing and relaxing by the water. The whole time Brooke was able to forget about being away from home on her birthday, and forget about the warning Everest gave her in the back of her mind. She was with her friends, and her team, she could just focus on having fun today. As the sun dipped behind the horizon, they all sat around Alex's fire pit with just the partners sitting beside their trainers. The boys had put on T-shirts and jackets on over their tops, and Brooke was borrowing a man's hoodie that she had, and Alex was wearing a cover-up. 

"So, Brooke, I know you're doing the gym challenge, but what is everyone else doing?" Alex asked everyone. "I'm working to become a Pokemon Ranger. I love helping to protect people and pokemon." Jordan went first. "I'm going to become a world renown contest performer." Logan said with a confident smile. "I don't really know, if I'm honest. I just wanted to go on a journey to get away from my house." Charles explained, seeming a little embarrassed. "You know, Jordan, there's a Pokemon Ranger base in Nyanja Town, you should go check it out." Alex told him. "Um-yeah. I'll have to." He looked over at Brooke, a little nervous. He remembered what happened the last time he went to visit a ranger base. "Logan." Steven got the boy's attention. "Wallace is a very close friend of mine. If you find yourself in Hoenn, I would be happy to introduce you." Steven offered, and if he had been drinking anything, Logan would have done a spit-take. "Are you serious!? Wallace is my idol!" Steven laughed a bit. "I am serious. In fact, he may be looking for a new pupil soon." 

"Oh. My. Goodness. Yes! After Maroh, I would love that!" 

"Alex can give you my contact later, and when you're done in Maroh, you'll have to look me up." 

"Yes! Yes! Thank you, Steven, that sounds amazing!" Logan smiled giddily. "Are you all from Maroh?" Alex asked. "Jordan and I are from Castelia City in Unova. Although he moved to Playa Town a few years before I did." 

"Yes, I'm from Nebulosa Town." Charlie told her. "I'm from Ecruteak City in Johto." 

"Johto, that's really different from Maroh, huh?" 

"Yeah! I miss it. Around this time of year, my little sisters and I would all check to see if the cherry blossoms were blooming." He smiled, as if he were back home. "Sorry to interrupt, but Steven and I have to head inside and get some work done, or he may lose it. You all can stay out here as long as you like as long as you put out the fire when you're done." Alex and Steven stood up. "Thank you." Brooke heard Steven mumble to Alex as they walked inside. 

"Logan, what are your sisters' names?" 

"Oh! There's Maggie who's 17 and Riley who's 14. What about you, Charles? Any family?" 

"Just my mom and dad. I'm an only child." 

"Lucky you, siblings can be work." Brooke laughed. "Who's your sibling, Brooke?" 

"I have an older brother named Theo. He's working with Professor Pine, trying to be a Professor too some day." 

"What about you, Jordan? What's you family?" 

"It's just my mom and my sister. My dad is...gone." 

"Oh, I'm sorry." 

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, I have a twin sister named Vanessa. She's Brooke's rival." 

"That sounds familiar from somewhere...?" 

"She fought in the Maroh Bardaga." 

"Oh right! She won!" 

"Yeah. She did." Brooke chimed in shortly. They all looked over to her and there was a lull for a moment. "I...I'll be right back." She stood and walked off the porch and down to the water's edge. It was much darker over here, and there was just the ocean lapping at her toes as she took a deep breath. 

"Is she okay?" Logan asked after Brooke was out of earshot. "She'll be okay. She always gets this way when she's thinking about my sister." Jordan said with a frown, using a stick to stir the fire. "I'm...gonna go talk to her." Charlie got up and followed her. "Brooke?" 

"Yes, Charlie?" She replied without looking up at him as he stepped up beside her. "I uh...got you something." She looked up at him. "You did?" She felt herself smile a little at how embarrassed he became. "Yeah. I-It's nothing much. You know, I didn't have a whole lot of time to get you anything. It's the best i could do and--" 

"Charlie." 

"Hm?" 

"I'm sure it's fine." She said gently and he nodded, blushing slightly. He pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to her. "It's a luvdisc scale." She took it out of his hand gently, and moved it in her fingers as it reflected the light. "April found it and gave it to me. Luvdisc are supposed to be good luck, and I thought it looked nice, so I-I don't know." 

"Thank you, Charlie." She looked over and smiled at him. She clasped the scale in her hand. "You've been so nice to me today." 

"Aren't I nice to you every day?" She laughed a bit. "You are. But you've been especially nice today. Thank you for being supportive of me." She quickly leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. When she pulled back, she almost burst out laughing at the shocked look on his face. "Thank you, Charles." 

"Y-Yeah. Of course." She walked past him and back up onto the porch. Charlie gingerly touched his cheek where she kissed him and couldn't help but smile like an idiot. He soon turned around and followed her back onto the porch too. "Brooke! Truth or dare!" Logan blurt out when she came and sat back on her chair. "Oh no. Truth." she answered as Charlie sat back in his seat too. Logan got a huge smirk on his face and Brooke felt her stomach twist. Oh no. "Have you and Jordan ever dated?" 

"Oh God." Jordan placed his head in his hands, thoroughly embarrassed. Brooke looked away and scratched the back of her neck. "Uh--define 'dated'." 

"OH MY GOD YOU HAVE!" Logan exclaimed, his eyes wide, and an excited smile on his face. "Tell me everything! I have to know!" 

"No! I already answered your question." 

"Okay fine then. Brooke! Truth or dare!" 

"No."

"You have to say something." 

"Dare." 

"I dare you to tell me about when you dated Jordan!" Logan said with a wicked laugh. "Uuuuughhh! Fine! There's nothing to know!" Brooke took a deep sigh. "We were thirteen, it was soon before Jordan found out he would be moving to Maroh. Everyone already thought we were dating, so we thought we'd give it a shot and see what it felt like." Brooke began, Logan hanging on ever word, and Charlie doing the same, just not being so obvious about it. "We got burgers at a local diner, then went to a movie. Then he walked me back home. We decided that it just felt weird to hold hands and all that date stuff, so we decided we'd stay friends. That's it." 

"Did you two kiss?" Logan asked, and Jordan sunk deeper into his hands. Brooke swallowed before answering quietly. "Yes." 

"WHAT!" 

"It was weird! It was only for a couple seconds, and right after we knew at the same time that this wasn't for us, and we would never date again." Brooke explained. "That's all." Logan laughed loudly. "OH MY GOODNESS!" He wiped a tear from his eyes. "Okay! That's my cue! Goodnight everybody!" Brooke stood up along with Lukas. "NO! Wait! Brooke, come back! I'm sorry!" 

"No you're not. Goodnight." She waved over her shoulder and walked inside. After a moment of silence, Logan looked over at Jordan, who was just reemerging from his makeshift hiding place in his palms. "Were you guys good kissers?" Logan asked and Jordan shot up. "OKAY. That's my call, goodnight." He walked off to with Titus following him.


	38. The Stolen Stones

Brooke woke up, got dressed, and walked down the stairs towards Alex's kitchen, but paused when she heard three voices. Two were Alex and Steven, but she didn't recognize the third one. "I simply cannot believe this has happened!" Said the unknown man in a worried tone. Brooke peered into the kitchen. He was an older man with gray hair in a fancy suit. He was a short and stout man who had an air of wealth around him. "Don't worry, Mr. Hemmings, we're going to find who did this, and bring you your gems back. Just tell us what--" Steven stopped mid sentence when he saw Brooke and Lukas standing in the doorway. "Oh! Brooke! Good, you're awake. You should be in here too." 

"But, Alex, this could be dangerous." 

"Please, Steven, like you haven't brought young trainers to dangerous situations before." Alex waved him off and stepped aside so Brooklyn could join them. "Brooke, this is Mr. Hemminigs, he had a large shipment of his stones and jewels stolen last night." 

"It was late. The workers were unloading the truck when all of a sudden these trainers just leaped out of nowhere and made off with all my merchandise!" 

"What sort of trainers were they?" Steven asked. "My employees said they wore fancy clothes. All blue and white. They used ice and water type pokemon." 

"Team Sapphire!" They all turned to see Jordan and Titus in the doorway. "This has to be the work of those crooks." 

"Team Sapphire?" Steven repeated. "They're a group of thieves running through Maroh. They steal pokemon and valuables for their own gain." 

"What was part of the shipment, Sir?" Jordan asked and walked further into the room. "Evolutionary stones. Things like dawn stones, water stones, dusk stones, ice stones, fire stones, and shiny stones." 

"They must be evolving their pokemon, and selling what they don't use!" Jordan exclaimed. "We have to stop them." 

"So if that's true, where could they have gone?" Brooke asked. "Well. The Ranger base is to the south, so they wouldn't have gone that way. What about the ocean?" Alex suggested and Steven shook his head. "The police have checked the docks. Nothing new came in or out all night, even unauthorized." 

"Then the woods then?" Brooke suggested and everyone thought for a moment. "Lots of hiding places and paths, it's hard to search if we only have a few squads. What do you think, Alex?" 

"Well North is no good either. Police and rangers have been notified in all towns near here." 

"What are we waiting for, then. The woods it is!" Jordan exclaimed and Brooke nodded. "Thank you all so much for helping me. I wish there was some way I could repay you!" 

"Please, Mr. Hemmings, it's our duty as champions to help you." Steven replied, smiling. 

With the Police assisting them, all the trainers split into pairs to help search, with walkie-talkies to communicate. Brooke and Alex went together, Jordan and Steven, then Logan and Charlie. They'd been searching for about an hour, and still hadn't found anything. "This is taking forever. What if we don't find them? There are miles of forest, and they've had all night to get a head start." 

"Now, don't be so pessimistic, Brooke. Look there." Alex pointed to a clearing with large patches of ice. "They could've been along here!" 

"Right. Let's follow this path." Alex and Brooke followed along before they came to another large clearing with a cave, and an old run down building. There were Team Sapphire members moving large boxes from a truck to the cave. The boxes were all labeled "Hemmings Jewelry and Stones". "They did steal everything! Those dirty--" 

"Calm down, Brooke. We can't just rush in there." Alex took out her radio. "We've found them. I'm sending our location to you all now, be careful." 

"We'll be there soon, Alex." 

"Hang tight." The other pairs replied.

The rest of them soon arrived, and they were ready to attack. Jordan and Brooke were the first to jump out of the bushes. "Stop right there, Team Sapphire!" Everyone else soon followed. "Ugh! How'd they find us!" 

"It's no matter." The elite member, Beige, walked over. "We'll take care of them. Everyone attack!" All the grunts released various ice and water type pokemon and started attacking. Brooke could tell Lukas was already having trouble dealing with so many opponents on his own. "Come on and help out!" She called as she released Oshima and Gawain from their pokeballs. Help Lukas and the others! We need to make sure they don't use these stones!" They both nodded, and Brooke kept on eye on them while they were fighting, calling out the occasional command. Suddenly, in all the wake of one of Steven's attacks, some of the stones and dirt went flying, and Brooke saw a dawn stone headed right for Gawain. "Wait!!" She immediately jumped forward and caught it. He looked up at her with a surprised look. "Not before you're ready." She showed him the stone that almost evolved him and he nodded before getting back to battling. 

A piercing light overcame them all and Brooke looked to see Oshima changing shape. He grew much taller, and his flames became more prominent on his back. When he was done changing shape he roared, and used flame charge on his opponents. "Way to go, Oshima!" She cheered for him, and finally the battle was going their way. Soon all of them were defeated, and they all escaped in the truck, leaving all but a few boxes of stones behind. 

They were finally able to get all the boxes safely back to Bistre City, and the trainers went to Mr. Hemmings' shop to ensure everything went smoothly. "Thank you all so much. There are simply no words to express my gratitude to you all!" 

"Really, it was nothing." 

"Well, I figured I must repay you all. So I have something for each of you." He turned and got several decorated boxes from a shelf. "You, young man, step up." He beckoned Jordan over. "This orange one is for you." Jordan reached over and opened the box, taking out a bright red and orange stone. "I noticed you have a handsome Growlithe with you, so I figured he'd make a wonderful arcanine." 

"Oh! Ah--Thank you, sir." He stepped back, and placed the stone in his bag. "Now for you." He pointed to Charles who stepped up to the counter. "This white one is for you." Charles reached over and opened the box, taking out a bright white stone. "An ice stone! For your alolan vulpix you have!" 

"Wow! Thank you, sir!" 

"Now, I have something very special for the both of you." He nodded to Logan and Brooke who stepped up together. "These two are for you." He placed two colorful boxes before them, and they opened them. Their jaws dropped at the sight of what was in the box. One was a colorful one, with a black design in it. The other one in Brooke's box was bigger and white with a blue and red design in the middle. Logan's second one was similar but had a gray base with a white and dark gray design. "Are...Aren't these...?" 

"Indeed they are! A key stone and a mega stone! An Aggronite and a Salamencite to be exact." 

"And here, to go with them." He pulled out a silver cuff bracelet and a long, thin silver chain. "For you to put your key stones in." 

"S-Sir. We couldn't possibly accept these. Aren't these extremely rare?" 

"Not if you know where to look." The man smiled. "Go on, it's the least I could do for all of you." 

Brooke took the key stone and latched it into the necklace chain while Logan did the same with the silver bracelet and placed the mega stone in their bags. "Oh! And I picked this up during the battle." Brooke handed out the dawn stone she caught earlier and held it out to Mr. Hemmings. "No need. You have a Kirlia, don't you? Keep it. He may want to be a gallade against a gardevoir." 

"This is too much, sir. Thank you." 

"Not a problem! Now, it's getting late, you all should be heading home now." He waved to them, and they all left his store to return to Alex's place. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm beat." Jordan said tiredly. "Me too." Charles replied with the same tone. Brooke couldn't take her eyes off of her new key stone in her hands. Something about its colorful sheen captivated her. Something told her she'd need it one day.

They got back to the house, and everyone was heading to sleep, except Brooke wanted to cool down in the fresh night air. She stepped onto the back porch that overlooked the ocean and took a deep breath. "Umbre?" Lukas asked if she was okay. "We saw Team Sapphire again today. That's twice in the past week, Lukas. If what Everest said is right, then I'm worried about what they're after." 

"Bre..." 

"They're trying to become stronger by evolving their pokemon. Their plans have to be drawing near. I know I trust my team, and my friends, but what if Everest was right about them too? Do you really think one of them could be untrustworthy?" 

"Don't do that to yourself, Brooklyn." She whipped around to see Steven standing in the doorway to the porch. "S-Steven! I--" 

"The minute you doubt your friends, the enemy has won." He stepped out until he was nearer to her. "I've seen these kind of people before. They won't stop until their endgame is met. And when it comes time for their plan to take effect, you'll need your friends with you there. I've noticed how much they all trust you." 

"You have?" 

"They're all following you, Brooke. Even your pokemon. They wanted to go on this journey for you." She looked down at Lukas, whose eyes told her the same thing. "Steven, the other day you said you could tell I was the one challenging gyms because of a look in my eyes. What did you mean?" He smiled a bit and leaned against the railing beside her. "I've seen many trainers in my time, Brooklyn. Not all of them challenge me, and even then, not all of them have that thing that makes them a legendary trainer. But there is always that one. That one incredible trainer who has this...light in their eyes. And you know that they have the ambition, the empathy, and the passion to make their dreams come true." He paused, and Brooke watched him intently, hanging on his every word. "They're rare. And every great trainer knows that look when they see it. One that says that this person is worth paying attention to." He finally looked over at her. "The natural leader." He smiled a bit and stood up straight again. "Alex knows it, all the gym leaders you've faced know it, your team knows it, your friends know it, and I know it. That's why you have that key stone with you." He took a step towards the door. "So please, don't doubt your friends, it will only hurt you." He nodded to Lukas and began walking back inside, but then paused in the doorway. "You'll understand once you're a more powerful trainer." Then he left, without saying another word. 

Brooke stood there staring a moment longer. A former champion, Steven Stone, just said that to her. He had faith in her. Everyone had faith in her. She couldn't help but smile a bit. "Come on, Lukas. Let's go to bed."


	39. The Nyanja Town Rangers

They left early in the morning with advice from Alex to head to Viaggio City, a port town with all kinds of battle competitions so Brooke could get some training in before her next gym challenge. 

They were stopped for lunch along the route. Titus was playing with Lukas and Ophelia along a stream while Orval was helping Logan cook lunch. Charles was watching while Brooke and Jordan had a training battle between Cooper and Ryder. 

"Okay, Cooper! Dragon claw!" 

"Focus energy, Ryder!" The cranidos stored up energy. "Now, crunch!" Jordan commanded. "Roll, Cooper!" Using his hard round shell, Cooper rolled out of the way just in time. But Ryder wasn't giving up, and kept running after his training mate. Suddenly, Ryder began to grow. He grew much taller, his gray and blue colors got darker in hue, and more spikes developed around his body. The growing stopped, and finally, Ryder was big enough to land an attack against Cooper. They stopped the battle to rush to their pokemon. Cooper looked up excitedly at his friend. "Ryder! You evolved!" Jordan greeted his rock type excitedly "Raaammm!" Ryder smiled. "Great job, dude!" Jordan pat Ryder's hard head and he smiled, nuzzling Jordan. 

Suddenly, Tutus started barking. "What is it, Titus?" Jordan asked his partner who continued barking, and pointing his nose to the opposite bank of the river. "I think he hears something on the other side of the river." Jordan looked over and suddenly, a Mightyena, a Houndoom, and a Honchcrow burst out of the brush on the other side and leaped across the river, attacking them. The trainers and pokemon scrambled to defend themselves. Then there were more trainers and pokemon on their side. The trainers were all in red and black uniforms and their pokemon all had scarves around their necks. Soon enough, the attacking pokemon were defeated. "Are you all right?" A woman in one of the uniforms with long dark blonde hair walked over to the trainers, a female pyroar by her side. "We're fine, Commander, thank you." She smiled. "Well, you can tell a ranger's rank by looking at her uniform, huh?" She seemed impressed with Jordan's knowledge and he scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I like to know all I can about the Pokemon Rangers. Especially since I'm on my journey to become one." The woman was about to reply when some of the rangers game over, holding three large men in cuffs by their arms. "Here are the poachers, Commander Hess." She nodded to them. "Get them in the truck and take them to Officer Jenny in Nyanja Town." They nodded and walked back into the woods with their pokemon. "You ought to be careful with your rare pokemon. We've been after those poachers for weeks now." 

"I think we can handle ourselves. I have five gym badges." Brooke chimed in. "Well. Why don't you let us escort you all to Nyanja Town anyway? We'll take you in our Jeeps." 

"We'd love that! Thank you, Commander." Jordan agreed enthusiastically before anyone else could say anything. "All right then, why don't you all pack up and come with me." 

The rangers took them back to Nyanja Town, and stopped in front of the ranger base that looked almost like a University Campus. "This, is the official Maroh training base for upcoming pokemon rangers." She looked to Jordan. "If you're planning on being a Ranger, this is where you'd start." 

"This place is amazing!" Jordan said excitedly, his amber eyes practically glowing. "I dont't think I ever got your names?" The Commander looked around at them all. "I'm Charles, and this is Ophelia." 

"I'm Logan, and this is Orval." 

"My name's Brooke, this is my partner, Lukas. And the kid-in-the-candy-store is Jordan and his partner, Titus." Brooke gestured over to her best friend who was looking around with wide, eager eyes. In his distracted state, he didn't notice the frisbee coming for the back of his head until it struck him. "Ow!" 

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" A brown skinned girl with long, wavy black hair rushed over to Jordan and picked up the disk, a mightyena trailing behind her. "Say, are you new here? I don't think I've seen you before." She smiled at him as Titus and the mightyena began introducing themselves to each other. "No, I'm just looking around. My name's Jordan, and this is my partner, Titus." 

"I'm Lillian, and this is Crissy." She gestured to her partner. "I'm a cadet here at the training base. And that's my boyfriend that threw the frisbee over there." She pointed behind her to a tall blond boy with a meinshoa. "His name's Andy." The boy waved awkwardly from a distance and his meinshoa slapped him over the head. "So, you looking to be a Pokemon Ranger?" Lillian asked Jordan. "You bet! That's what I'm on my journey for." 

"Well you should send in an application here! We'd love to have you." 

"Say, Jordan. I can give you a tour if you're interested." Commander Hess said from behind him, and the look on Jordan's face was beyond excitement. "Really? I'd love that!" 

"Say, tomorrow morning? 8 am?" 

"Yes! That sounds amazing!" The Commander turned and walked to a building that read "Staff Offices". 

"Jordan, we should get back to the Pokemon Center and settle in, right?" Brooke said pointedly and Jordan looked back at her and nodded. "Yeah. Nice to meet you!" Jordan waved goodbye to Lillian and Andy before walking with the other trainers into the rest of the town. 

"You really do know a lot about Pokemon Rangers, don't you, Jordan?" Logan said as they walked through the streets. "Yeah! I've wanted to be one since I was eight." 

"What made you want to be one?" 

"When I was little, there were still a lot of remains of the effects of Team Plasma in Unova, and especially in a big city like Castelia. The Rangers and the Police would be the ones to protect pokemon and people, and that's what I really wanted to do." 

"You've known since you were only eight years old?" Charles asked. "Yeah! I always have." Jordan replied with a smile as they arrived at the Pokemon Center as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. 

Jordan was downstairs calling his mother while Brooke set out food for her team. There was a gentle knock at the door and Brooke looked over. "Oh! Hey, Charlie. What's up?" 

"I saw Jordan was downstairs, and I was wondering if I may assist you?" He nodded to the bandages on her arm and she nodded. "I'd like that, thanks." He smiled softly and walked in, sitting on the bed beside her and taking out his first aid kit. But as he set down Brooke's bag, the box the jeweler had given her tumbled out. "Oh! I'm so sorry. I'll get that." 

"I still can't believe he gave me that." Brooke said absent-mindedly as Charles began working with the bandages. "It's a very rare gift. The shopkeeper must have seen potential in you." 

"I don't know... I think Alex and Steven were behind it." 

"I wouldn't be surprised. I think they see a lot of potential in you." She looked over at him. "You do?" 

"Of coarse, Brooke." 

"But that doesn't make sense. Steven only knew me for a few days? And I've only seen Alex a few times." 

"Well. I wouldn't know much about this from personal experience, but, they say a powerful trainer-like a gym leader or a champion-can sense the strength and potential of other trainers just by meeting them. I've heard a lot about the topic, there aren't that many academic papers on the subject since it's hard for many to explain. Anyway, Alex and Steven have been champions for many years. They can probably sense how spirited you are." 

"Well if gym leaders can do that, then why have the gym battle at all?" Brooke asked. She had heard her father talk about something like this, but it was rarely ever. "Well, if a gym leader dismissed trainers before they had the chance to prove themselves, then we wouldn't get anywhere. Part of the reason gym battles are so important, is so that young trainers, like us, can learn from their mistakes in battle and do better next time, all the while growing closer with their pokemon. Think about it, Brooklyn, how much have you bonded with your team just by training for a gym battle?" She was in thought for a moment. It was more times than she can count. Through their training they'd grown closer and learned from each other, and grown to trust each other without question. "I'd never thought about it like that." Charles smiled at her as he finished his work on the bandages. It got her thinking about her father. He would say the exact same thing to her. "Charles?" 

"Yes?" 

"Do you miss your parents?" He hesitated a moment. "Naturally. They may be a bit strict about my studies, but I still care for them." 

"I miss home too, sometimes. It's funny. That's the exact kind of thing my Dad would say to me if he were here." 

"Right. I'm sure you miss your parents and your brother while you're out here, too." Brooke suddenly frowned a bit and looked down at her shoes. "It's...It's actually just my dad and my brother, no 'parents'." She corrected him. "Oh! I apologize, Brooke. I am so sorry, I didn't know--" She shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Charles, it's okay." She forced a smile and looked back over at him, but he didn't seem too convinced. "Well, I should go feed my pokemon. Are you certain you're alright?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine. See you." He slowly stood and left. Once he was gone Brooke's smile was gone again and her hands went to the sea glass necklace resting on her collarbone. She sighed deeply. "Would you say that too, mom?" Brooke whispered quietly before relaxing on her bed.


	40. A Dream Come True?

Jordan woke early the next morning and practically skipped out of his shoes when he arrived with Titus by his side at the Ranger Academy, where Commander Hess was waiting for them. "You sure are punctual, kid, it's 8 am on the dot." 

"Titus and I are just so excited to be finally seeing the ranger academy!" Jordan replied enthusiastically. Commander Hess chuckled a bit. "Come on, let's get the tour started." He followed her along the bustling campus of kids getting to their morning activities. 

It was beautiful. All the buildings were made from stone or brick, and had neatly trimmed grass and flowers lining all the buildings. There was a large courtyard with many sprawling trees and a fountain in the center. It was obviously well planned and well cared for. In all areas of campus there were ranger cadets lounging or studying or playing with their pokemon. "This area is called the forum. This is where the majority of events are held on campus. Obstical courses, deployment fairs, and competitions." She explained as they walked through the large green area. As they were walking, he noticed the two cadets he met yesterday, and they both rushed up to them. "Hey, Jordan!" 

"Lillian! Andy! Hi there!" 

"How's the tour? Do you like our little home-away-from-home?" Lillian asked and Jordan nodded. "Yeah! It's exactly like I thought it'd be! I can't wait to apply!" 

"I'd offer for you to room with me, but Gina here takes up a lot of room." Andy nudged his Meinshoa playfully. "No worries. I'm sure Titus here would take up a lot of room if he were an arcanine." They kept socializing for a few more minutes until the Commander cut back in. "Well, Jordan, there's one more thing I still have to show you." 

"Oh, right! Sorry, Commander. I'll see you two around later?" 

"For sure! Bye, Jordan!" 

"Have fun on the rest of your tour!" The two rangers waved and walked off with their partners. 

The Commander lead him into a two story brick building, and into an office labeled "new student advising". She pulled into someone's office, and there was a man sitting at the desk, looking like he'd been waiting for them. "Hello, Commander Hess. Good to see you. And this must be the prospective student you told me about?" 

"Yes. This is Jordan O'Conner, and his partner, Titus." 

"Nice to meet you, sir." Jordan smiled. "Nice to meet you too, Jordan." 

"Jordan, this is Mr. Jamie. He's the head of cadet admissions here at the university. I need to go teach a class. Why don't you both get acquainted?" She nodded to them and left the room as Jordan sat down at the desk. "So, Jordan, you want to become a Pokemon Ranger?" 

"Yes, sir. That's what I'm on my journey for." 

"How long have you wanted to be one?" 

"Ever since I was a kid, really. Ever since I lived back in Unova, I've wanted to help other people and pokemon. It just seemed like the perfect fit, I think." 

"Do you know what made you want to do it?" 

"Well, I was born as the remains of Neo-Team Plasma were being depleted in Castelia City. The Unovian Pokemon Rangers would be the ones to protect pokemon and people when the Team Plasma remains would try to attack or steal pokemon. I always really admired them for that." The man nodded. "Commander Hess told me about your great work battling those poachers the other day. Would you consider yourself a skilled trainer?" Jordan nodded. "Yes. I have Titus here, my staravia, by crocanaw, and my rampardos. I've been on my journey with my best friend who's doing the gym challenge, and I've had the opportunity to help train and raise my pokemon a great deal." 

"Are you aware of a group named Team Sapphire?" Mr Jamie asked, and Jordan's smile faded. "Unfortunately, yes. We've run into them several times on our journey. No good thieves." The man nodded. "What do you think of our campus, Jordan?" 

"I love it. I've already done lots of research on this academy before I went on my journey, to figure out where I wanted to get my training done, and it's exactly like I thought it would be." Jordan smiled. 

They continued talking for a while more, until Mr. Jamie finally said. "How would you like a spot at this academy? Starting today." Jordan was stunned, and he exchanged a look with his partner. "I...I beg your pardon, sir?" 

"This has been an interview, Jordan. Commander Hess and I believe that you would be a great fit for this school." 

"Y-You do?" 

"We have some spots open now. And if you work hard, you could jump in for a Summer Semester." 

"Are you...Are you serious?" 

"Of course. Are you interested?" 

"Absolutely! Of course I am!" He looked over at his partner, and they were both very excited. But then they remembered at the same time. "Oh wait... What about Brookie...? How is she going to take this?" Jordan bit his lip, remembering the last time he was offered a place at a pokemon ranger base. "Would you like some time to think it over?" Mr Jamie asked and Jordan nodded. "Yes, please." 

"Very well. How about twenty-four hours?" 

"Thank you. I'll get back to you by noon tomorrow."

"Here's my card." He handed Jordan a slip of paper. "I look forward to hearing from you, Jordan." 

"Thank you for this chance, sir." 

He and Titus left the office, deep in thought. 

They arrived back at the Pokemon Center, Brooke was out training so he went up to the room. He released his team around him and he slumped onto his bed. "I don't know guys. What should I do? On the one hand, I'd be doing what I set out here on my journey to do. What my dream is. But on the other hand, I'd be leaving Brookie, Logan, and Charles behind. I have no idea what to do." He looked around and saw his pokemon were starting to get sleepy. He sighed. "Maybe I'll go call Mom. She's always good with this kind of thing." Jordan sighed and stood up just as Brooke was returning from training. She looked tired, and some of her hair was sticking to her face from sweat. "Hey, Jordan! How was your tour?" 

"It was good." Was all he said as he walked past her out of the room. She exchanged a look with Lukas. "That was odd." 

She sat down on her bed and took a swig from her blue camerupt-bak water bottle. "Let's call home, huh?" She pulled out her phone and opened the face call, dialing Playa Town. After a few rings, the one who answered was an...axew? "Ummm...Hey there?" 

"Hey! What are you doing over there!" She heard her brother's voice in the background. "Get down from there!" the axew laughed and jumped out of frame, and her brother appeared. He looked over at the screen. "Oh! Hey! Sorry, about that, Brooke." 

"What...was that?" 

"That's my newest pokemon. His name is Nathan." 

"Oh! Great job! Where'd you get him?" 

"On an excavation site. He was snooping around. Long story short he let me catch him." 

"Hey, is Dad there?" 

"Yeah, hold tight, I'll get him." Theo left and returned a minute later with Trydan. "Brooklyn! Good to see you! How are you?" 

"I'm great! Cooper evolved into a Shelgon, and Oshima is a Typhlosion now!" 

"That's amazing, Brooklyn! You're making great progress! Speaking of progress, where are you right now?" 

"I'm in Nyanja Town." 

"You're getting close to Playa Town. You ought to come by for a visit when you're coming through." Theo smiled. "Yeah! I can't wait for you to meet my pokemon, and my friends that I'm travelling with!" 

"Yeah! We can hardly wait to--" Her father was cut off by another call coming in. "Oh! That's the Professor, I've gotta take this, Brooke. Bye, loser!" He hung up before she or her father could say goodbye. She looked around as her arm fell to her side to see her team had fallen asleep. "Yeah, I'm tired too." She collected her things to take a shower before she went to bed. 

It was late in the lobby of the Pokemon center, and Jordan was calling his mother. He looked at her face across the screen, thinking about what she'd just said. "I...I think I know what I have to do." He finally said, and his mother nodded. 

Brooke woke up the next morning to see a note from Jordan, telling her he'd gone out on a walk and would meet her, Charlie, and Logan on their way out of town. 

The trainers collected their things and started on the path out of the city towards Viaggio Town. Jordan was there waiting for them on the path with Titus and his bag. "You ready to go, Jordan?" Logan asked as they approached him. "Actually. Not quite." Jordan said, he seemed uncomfortable. "Is something wrong, Jordan?" Charlie asked. "No. Sorta. Everything's fine. I need to tell you all something." 

"What is it?" 

"Well... When I was on the tour yesterday, Commander Hess took me to meet with an admissions officer. He asked me a lot of questions about my future, and being a ranger, and he offered me a spot in the academy." Brooke's eyebrows shot up and out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Charles and Logan exchange a look. "And he gave me twenty four hours to think it over. And...I just got back from the admissions office. I accepted the offer." He paused a moment, trying to read his friends' faces. "I'm staying here in Nyanja Town." They were speechless. "Jordan...I..." He turned to look at her. "Brooke, I'm sorry. I know what happened the last time I was offered a ranger position, but I couldn't turn up this opportunity. You're still my best friend and I know that neither of us want to be apart like this again, but--" 

"Jordan. It's okay." 

"It is?" 

"Yes." She smiled a bit and shook her head. "When we had our fight, it made me realize that your journey isn't any less important than mine. This is your dream, and you should follow it." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes. Jordan, you're my best friend, and I care about you. I want you to be happy, and I know you'll be happy here." He smiled. "Thanks, Brookie." He opened his arms and she hugged him tightly. He wished goodbye to Charlie an Logan too while Brooke knelt down and rubbed along Titus' back. "You take good care of Jordan, huh?" 

"Growl! Growlithe!" He barked. Lukas said goodbye to him, and they released their teams to say goodbye to Jordan's. Cooper and Ryder shared a tearful goodbye, and Oshima and Rip said goodbye to each other as well. 

"Brooklyn, we should be going." Charles reminded her and Brooke nodded. "Okay, everyone return." She drew back her pokemon and hugged Jordan one last time. "Good luck, Jordan. You'll do great." 

"Thanks, Brookie. I'll call you often, okay?" 

"Good. At least once a week." 

"At least." Jordan nodded, and Brooke smiled and nodded before walking along the path with Charles and Logan, and Jordan walked back into Nyanja Town. 

Brooke was watching her feet as they walked, and her friends were on either side of her. "Hey, are you all right?" Charles asked. She took a deep breath. "I will be." Logan reached over and placed a friendly, comforting arm around her and they walked off to Viaggio Town.


	41. Spooky, Scary...Romance?

It was the day after Jordan had decided to stay in Nyanja Town, and the trainers were on their way to Viaggio Town, and stopped along the path for lunch, although there were dark clouds gathering above them, foreboding a storm. Logan was cooking up their meals and Charles and Brooke sat together on a blanket and watched their pokemon running about and playing. She looked over at Solomon who was sitting in the grass, his eyes fixated on all the pokemon. "Guys? I think something's up with Solomon." 

"What makes you say that?" Charles asked. "He's been...distant lately." Charles and Logan looked to each other. "Brooke, he's always distant." Logan said. "It's different. He's not eating as much and he seems distracted in training now. Do you guys think he's sick? Should we take him to the Pokemon Center when we get to Viaggio Town?" 

"He doesn't seem to be exhibiting any symptoms of illness." Charles stated, and they both looked over when Logan started chuckling, walking over to hand them their food. "What's so funny?" 

"Well it's so painfully obvious, Brooke, I'm just surprised you haven't noticed it yet." Brooke raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" 

"I believe Solomon is in love." 

"In love!? With who?" 

"Whom." Charles said and Brooke shot him a look. "With Camilla." he said, nodding to his shiny delcatty. Solomon seemed to finally notice they were talking about him and he glared back at them. He growled, trying to deny his feelings. "It's okay, Solomon, you don't have to hide it." Brooke teased him a bit and he growled again. "Just go talk to her, you can do it, Solomon." She pushed him over to Camilla a bit and he glared back at her as the delcatty stared. The luxray began speaking to her, sounding like he was stumbling as all the trainers watched him intently. Camilla stood and walked away, her tail hitting Solomon in the face lightly. "Did she just brush him off!?" Brooke exclaimed, shocked. "Maybe he still has to prove himself to her." Charles suggested. "Prove himself? What's there to prove? Any pokemon would be lucky to have Solomon like them!" 

"She doesn't usually act like this." Logan said. "Well, when it comes to mating, pokemon take it very seriously. They can act differently because they want to make sure they're getting their best option. I remember reading something back at the academy that said that usually, the one courting will fight and train to get stronger so their prospective mate will see that they can protect them." 

"Well then, time for some--" Brooke was cut off by a crack of thunder from above, making her squeal. They all quickly gathered their things as rain started pouring. They all ran along the path, trying to find somewhere to hide, Brooke's hands were shaking, trying to hold all her things. "Look! There's shelter!" Logan called, pointing to an old mansion off the path. They made a combee-line for the house and quickly rushed inside. They were all panting, and as soon as they regained themselves, they looked around the foyer. "Umbree?" Lukas looked up at her, worried. "I'm okay, thanks, Lukas. We're inside now." It was very dark and old, and it was obvious no one had lived here in a very, very long time. 

Logan took a pokeball off his belt and released Camilla. "Hey, can you use Thunder Wave to help us see a bit?" He asked and she used the electricity to light up the room. There was an old staircase leading from the foyer to the second floor, and a large chandelier hanging from a thread above them. Old busts lined the sides of the room and Brooke got an eerie feeling they were watching her. Suddenly, the silence was broken when a pokeball on Brooke's belt opened on its own and Solomon materialized in front of her. "Solomon! You nearly scared me to death!" 

"Lux! Luxray! Lux lux!" 

"What? Why should we leave? We can't go back in that storm." Brooke stood and went to take a step forward, but Solomon stood stubbornly in front of her. "Lux." 

"Solomon, you're being paranoid, it's fine." Brooke ate her words when...what sounded like a laugh echoed from the hallway. They all stood frozen, looking around. "You all heard that, right?" Logan asked, his voice shaking. "I-I'm sure it was the creaking of the house. This place has got to be old and falling apart." Charles tried to rationalize, but then a shadow flew over their heads, around the chandelier, then vanished. "Can you blame that on the old house!?" Logan shrieked. "What was that!?" 

"I think it was a haunter!" 

"Okay! Solomon was right! We're out of here!" Brooke turned and yanked on the door, but it wouldn't open. "No." She pushed and pulled, but the doors just clattered together, not opening. "No. No. No. I will not be trapped in here!" Logan tried as well, but again, the doors didn't budge. Brooke pulled especially hard, but her hands slipped and she fell backwards, but when she landed against the ground, a large gear was heard turning somewhere in the house and the ground gave way beneath her. She heard her friends calling out to her as she and Lukas tumbled into the ground. Before Charles could jump in after her, the trap door shut again, and no matter what they tried, it wouldn't open again. 

"Oh god. What do we do now? Brooke and Lukas are gone and the doors are locked and there are traps everywhere. And ghosts!" Logan said, panicked. Charles stood again and looked around. "We have no choice but to walk around and look for another way out, and look for Brooke and Lukas." 

Brooke groaned, opening her eyes slowly. She sat up and rubbed her back, having landed on the hard floor of whatever basement she was in. "Lukas? You okay, buddy?" 

"Umbreeeee..." He got up too, his yellow rings slightly illuminating his figure. "Maybe this'll help." She released Oshima from his pokeball, and his flames helped light up the room around them. She took out her phone and looked to see if she could call Charles, but she had no service. "Great. I can't call them for help. Looks like we're on our own, guys." She stood up, groaning a bit, and started to walk aimlessly through the basement. 

Charles, Logan, Camilla, and Solomon had gotten a bit lost in the halls. They weren't quite sure where they were, or where they'd been. They walked down a dead end hall and Charles sighed, frustrated. "Come on, let's go try another one." He suggested, but they all froze when creaking came from down the hall. They all stared into the darkness. "What are the chances that's Brooke?" Logan whispered. "Slim?" Charles replied, his voice unintentionally cracking. Then, a shadow in the shape of what looked like a haunter zipped from the shadows, scooped up Camilla and raced down an adjacent hallway before any of them could stop it. Solomon sped off after them without a moment's hesitation. "Solomon!" The boys tried to follow them, but it wasn't long before they lost track of the pokemon. "Great! First we lost Brooke, now we lost the pokemon." Charles said, frustrated. "We have got to get out of here." 

Solomon ran after the haunter that had picked up Camilla, eventually cornering it in a hallway. He growled at it and electricity sparked from his fangs. The haunter laughed wickedly and dropped Camilla before spinning and vanishing into the darkness. Solomon ran forward and caught Camilla before she hit the ground, allowing her to gently step onto the old wooden floor. (("Thank you, Solomon.")) 

(("Are you alright?")) He asked, checking her over. She nodded. (("I'm fine. I think we lost our trainers.")) He noticed one of her paws was bothering her, but he looked down the hallway, the voices of their trainers were gone, and all they heard was the rain and distant thundering from outside. (("Come on, we should walk around and see if we can find them.")) He took a step forward, looking back at her. She nodded and walked beside him. (("Thank you for chasing down that Haunter.")) He looked over at her, and the slightest smile came to his face. (("Anything.")) Solomon replied, warmly. 

They walked along in silence for a while, Solomon never letting his protective guard down once. They finally reached the foyer where they originally came in. (("Maybe we could wait here? They're bound to come back here eventually, right?")) Camilla suggested and Solomon nodded. (("You're right.")) She sat down, her back to the front door and Solomon stood in front of her, guarding her. (("Solomon, you don't need to be so protective. I may be trained for contests, but I'm not helpless.")) He didn't take his eyes off the hallways. (("I have to.")) 

(("Have to? Why?")) 

(("Because I wouldn't know what to do with myself if something happened to you, Camilla.")) He replied, some softness in his usual monotone voice. 

Solomon backed up towards Camilla when the haunting voice of a Spiritomb echoed in the foyer. Finally, it materialized and it, along with a Sableye it was with started attacking them, and Solomon was making his best effort to fight them both off at once while protecting Camilla. 

Brooke, Oshima, and Lukas were finally able to escape the basement through a hidden staircase they found. They all exchanged a worried look when she heard the sounds of a pokemon battle in the house. "rrraAAAAAYYYy!" Brooke's heart stopped. "That's Solomon! Come on, guys!" She raced through the halls towards the cries to the foyer. She saw Solomon guarding Camilla while fighting off a Spiritomb and a Sableye. "Solomon!" 

"Camilla!" She looked to the other hallway and saw Logan and Charles there. "Brooklyn! You're okay!" Charles smiled when he saw her. She nodded. "Lukas! Oshima! Come on, let's help out! Bite and Flame Charge!" This was enough to send the wild pokemon running and the trainers raced towards their pokemon. "Solomon! Great job! I'm so proud of you!" 

"Camilla! You're okay!" 

Solomon turned to Camilla. (("Are you okay?")) She nodded. (("Thanks to you.")) Camilla stepped forward and nuzzled her cheek against Solomon. 

"Well would you look at that, Brooke! Looks like Solomon proved himself to her." Logan smiled. "We can be happy about this later. We have to get out of here!" Charles cut in, and careful not to trigger any more traps, they bust open the doors. "The storm is over!" 

"Thank goodness. Let's make camp somewhere far from here." Brooke sighed, thankful to finally be out of that haunted mansion.


	42. La Clave Battle Cruise

They finally arrived in Viaggio City in the late morning. The sun was shining brightly over the port city and made the bright blue ocean sparkle. Wingull soared around the boardwalks looking for handouts and filling the air with their calls. "Wow! This city is beautiful!" Charles exclaimed, looking around with a smile on his face. "And crowded, look how many people are out at the beach today." Logan commented. "It must be because of all the cruise boats coming in to town." Brooke commented, nodding to the wall of advertisements for various boats on a wall behind them. "Wow, I guess this spot is a hot tourist attraction." 

"Wait! Look at this one!" Brooke pointed to one that read "BATTLE CRUISE" on the top. "'If you're looking for an exciting ride through the La Clave islands, then this is the perfect cruise for you. Join in on a six day battle tournament, and have the opportunity to win an exciting array of prizes, and a chance to meet the Maroh Champion'." Brooke read aloud the text. "We have to go on this cruise!" 

"When does it leave?" 

"In two days." A new voice interrupted them. They looked over to see Alex standing there in an orange midriff top and white shorts with a large sun hat with her Absol, December, next to her. "Alex!" 

"Good to see you all. I was hoping you'd get to town by the time the cruise left." 

"You're going on this cruise too?"

"Of course. I live in the islands, after all." She looked around, then turned back to them. "Where's Jordan?" 

"He stayed behind in Nyanja Town to join the Pokemon Ranger Academy there." Alex smiled. "So he took my advice, then. Marvelous! Anyway, I'm glad you're interested in the Battle Cruise. I recommend signing up as soon as you can in the Pokemon Center. The spots are filling up fast." Charles turned to Brooke. "This would be great training for you and your team before your next gym battle, Brooke." 

"Hey! You're right! Now I've got to sign up, right, Lukas?" 

"Umbre!" 

They arrived at the Pokemon Center and were able to sign up for the cruise and register for a couple rooms until the ship left. Brooke released her team members in their single room. "I guess I'll have to get used to just being in a room with you all, huh." She said, sitting down on her bed. Sophia and Oshima were sitting together, Solomon was over visiting Camilla in Logan's and Charles' room, Gawain was sitting on the bed with her and Lukas, and Cooper was bundling himself in blankets. "We should all get some rest. We have a full day in the city tomorrow before going on the cruise. Goodnight everyone." 

They all chimed in with good nights and Brooke turned out the light and they all went to sleep. 

The next morning Logan had woken them up excitedly, going on about a surprise. They were walking along the boardwalk and Logan had the biggest grin on his face. "Logan, when are you going to actually tell us what this surprise is?" 

"Yeah, you woke me up way too early this morning." Brooke added with a yawn. "Brooke, I woke you up at eight." 

"Yeah, so super early." 

"Okay fine, I'll tell you. I'm just too excited to keep it in! See that ship?" He pointed to one with a logo of a Mantine on it. "It's from Olivine City in the Johto Region. And my two little sisters just happen to be on it!" 

"Your sisters are here?" 

"Yeah! They called me last night and mentioned they were coming to Maroh! What a coincidence it happens to be the same city!" He grinned, then through the crowd, two young girls pushed through. "Logie!!" They yelled and hugged him. "Hey!!" He laughed and hugged them back. One of the girls looked about seventeen, had Logan's dark skin and pale blue eyes, and long dark hair in a braid over her shoulder. The other looked about thirteen and had long dark hair as well, but had light brown eyes. They finished hugging and he turned to them. "Guys! These are my younger sisters, Riley and Maggie." He pointed to the older one with the braid and the younger one with the long hair respectfully. "These are my friends I'm travelling with, Brooke and Charlie." 

"It's nice to meet you guys! Logan has told us so much about you. This is my partner, Lukas." Brooke smiled at them. "Pleasure to meet you both. This is my partner, Ophelia." 

"Nice to meet you guys too! Logan has told our family so much about you guys!" Maggie smiled. "Say, it's just about lunch time. Why don't we go find somewhere to eat?" 

"Sounds great to me! I'm starving after that long boat ride." Riley smiled and they all went to a park with some sandwiches they'd bought from a deli. The park sat on a cliff and overlooked the ocean and beaches. "Hey, Brooke! I noticed you have an umbreon! Do you have any other Johto native pokemon?" Maggie asked. Brooke smiled and nodded. "Yeah! I've got a Typhlosion. Here," She took his pokeball off her belt and released him. "This is Oshima. I got him when I started my journey." Maggie smiled and rubbed Oshima's head, and he practically purred at the attention. "Awwww, he's a big sweetie! I can tell he's very attached to you! He's really strong. What do you feed him?" 

"A special food blend with spicy cheri and petaya berries that Charlie makes." She turned to him. "You make pokemon food?" He nodded. "I'm admittedly not very gifted in making normal food, but back at school I took a couple courses on making pokemon food for different types of pokemon." 

"That's awesome!" 

"Yeah, I mostly learned about making food for psychic types, but in intro classes we learned about other types too, and I still remember lessons from that." 

"Why just psychic types?" Riley asked. "I attended the Unos academy." Brooke looked over at him, and exchanged a glance with Logan. "Past tense, Charles?" His hazel eyes went wider, like he hadn't meant to let it slip. He cleared his throat. "I thought you were continuing your work online while we were on our journey. Isn't that what you told your parents so they would let you join us?" 

"Well--I--uh..." He sighed. "I've decided I want to drop out." 

"Drop out? Charles, are you sure?" 

"Yes. I wasn't happy there at that place. And being on my journey with you guys, with two people who know exactly what they want to do... It's made me think about what I really want, not what my parents want for me. And I don't want to study psychic types, I don't want to be at that school anymore. I...don't want to take over my family's company..." 

"So...what do you want to do?" Brooke asked him after a moment. "I...don't know yet. I just know what I don't want. But that's what this journey is all about. Exposure to new things. I want to do something that I want to do." Brooke smiled at him. "Well then, we'll support you no matter what you want, Charles. I'm happy you're thinking about what you want to do." He smiled back at her. "Thank you, Brooke." 

"You guys are lucky. My parents won't let me go on my journey yet." Riley said, pouting a bit. "Why not?" 

"They want me to finish school first." 

"Come on, Riley, I had to finish school before going to Maroh, you should have to finish school too." 

"What do you want to do, Riley?" Brooke asked. "I want to become a gym leader in Johto!" 

"A gym leader? What type?" 

"Fairy types! I've always found them mysterious and cool! My partner is a togetic." 

"What about you, Maggie? Do you know?" Charles asked. "I want to be a pokemon breeder. I'm applying to a breeding academy in Johto right now." 

"Say, the Battle Cruise is leaving tomorrow morning, are you guys going to join us?" 

"Of course!" Riley exclaimed. "We didn't travel all the way to the Maroh region just to see our big brother for an afternoon." They finished their lunch and explored around the city for the remainder of the day, ensuring they were all registered for the cruise, and the battle competition taking place on it before returning to the Pokemon Center for the night.


	43. Battles, Begin!

The trainers were all boarded on the boat, and given their rooms. Brooke was in a bigger room with Logan's sisters, and Logan and Charles were in a room next door. "Hey, the first round of battling is about to start, we should get to the deck and check in!" 

"You're right, let's get the boys and head over." 

They arrived on the deck and there were many people gathered in the stands, ready for the first round of battles to start. "Are you ready, Brooke?" 

"Oh yeah! This will be great training for my team and I." 

"Goodness knows you need it." A voice interrupted them and Brooke turned and scowled at the girl standing behind her. "Vanessa." Brooke hissed. "I'm surprised, I didn't think a weakling "trainer" like you would dare show your face around a competition like this." The black haired girl went on, crossing her arms. "I'll win this competition, just wait." Vanessa scoffed. "I'm willing to bet you get thrown out the first round, wimp. Don't forget how I beat you the last time we went head-to-head, Brooklyn." 

"Watch it, Vanessa." Brooke growled, taking a threatening step forward. "Or what?" The girl paused and took a step towards Brooke, countering her. "You watch it, Brooklyn. My brother isn't here to protect you anymore." She turned and strutted off, her Mawile snapping its jaws at them as it followed. "Who was that?" Riley asked, amazed at the interaction she just witnessed. "Vanessa O'Connor. My rival." Brooke growled, turning back to her friends and crossing her arms. "Don't let her get to you, Brooke. You can do this." Charles placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, and she just nodded, obviously still distracted. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the La Clave Battle Cruise!" The announcer began, and they all turned their attention to the man on the big screen. "We have a total of sixteen contestants with us on the cruise this week, and I must say, I am thrilled to see them all battle each other, aren't you?" The crowd cheered. "Today, we are only doing four of our eight matches, and will continue the rest of them tomorrow, so some of our trainers won't be fighting today. With that said, let's see who's fighting today!" They looked up to the big screen as pictures of trainers appeared. "First up, we have Vanessa versus Maggie, then after that, we have Isabella versus Michael, then, there's Peter versus Riley, and finishing up, we have Theodore versus Evan!" 

Vanessa and Maggie took their places on either side of the battlefield on the deck, the sea winds whipping around them. "This will be a one-on-one battle. The battle will end when either side's pokemon is unable to battle. Each trainer must choose and release their pokemon at the same time. Are both trainers ready?" They nodded. "Then choose your pokemon and hold their pokeball out in front of you." Each of the girls picked a pokeball and held it out in their hands. "Release your pokemon." Vanessa released a meganium, and Maggie released a flaaffy. "Battle, start!" 

"Floraine, use Toxic!" Vanessa called. The attack landed and the flaaffy's face turned purple. "Joule, use electro ball!" Maggie called. "Floraine, leech seed." Vanessa appeared almost bored by the battle. Giant vines burst from the ground and wrapped around Joule, tying them to the ground and sucking their energy. "Joule no! Use thunder shock!" The attack landed a bit, but it was weak from the status conditions sucking their energy. "Floraine, magical leaf." there was no way for Joule to move, and the attack was a hit. Vanessa commanded it again, and Joule fainted. 

Brooke, Logan, Charles, and Riley were silent as Maggie returned her partner and made her way back. "Wow. She's gotten stronger." 

"No kidding. She brought down Maggie's pokemon so efficiently, it's like she wasn't even trying." Charles added. Vanessa walked past them. "You're next. If you make it that far." Vanessa smirked at Brooke. 

Isabella and Michael went up next. Michael was a tall, well built man with short brown hair and green eyes, and his opponent, Isabella had long brown hair in a braid over one shoulder, freckles, and blue eyes. Michael sent out a metang, and Isabella released a furret. Michael won and was now able to move on to the next round. Next, was Riley against a boy named Peter. Peter was tall, had neat blond hair, hazel eyes, and a prosthetic left leg. Riley sent out her partner, a togetic named Flitter, and Peter released a bisharp. Riley was able to win, and Peter was out of the running. Then last, were two brothers. Evan had blond, swoopy hair, and bright blue eyes with a scruffy beard along his jawline. His opponent, Theodore had styled brown hair, pale skin, and pale blue eyes. Theodore sent out a Braviary, and Evan sent out a talonflame. They had a tough battle in the sky above the boat, but in the end Theodore was the winner. 

That night, they docked at the first island named Erable Island and would be there all the next day to explorer, then move on and continue the battle competition while they traveled to the next island. 

The trainers woke up early the next morning and made their way off the ship. "Wow! This place is really pretty." Maggie commented, looking around at all the maple trees around them, and the scent of sweet candy in the air. "Come on, let's go explore!" They stopped in several shops and picked up various maple candies that made their mouths water. 

They were walking in a park, in a less populated area of the island. Suddenly, Logan stopped. "Logan? What's wrong?" 

"Do you guys hear that?" 

"Hear what?" 

They were all silent, trying to pick up on what Logan had silenced them for. Then, they heard it. Distressed pokemon calls. "Come on, we have to see what's going on!" They all rushed into the bushes and saw a braviary being cornered by a fearow and a scyther. The braviary was badly hurt, and quite literally on its last leg. "Orval, come on! We have to help!" His partner jumped out in front of the braviary. "Iron tail, Orval!" 

The two flying types glared at Orval and attacked. "Protect!" A blue force field went up around Orval and the Braviary, and the opponent's attacks were deflected. "Now, rock slide!" Several orbs of energy formed around Orval, and they all turned to giant rocks and were flung at the opponents. That was enough to send them flying off. As soon as they were gone, Logan rushed over to the Braviary. "Are you okay?" 

"Braaaa..." A leg looked twisted, and it was bruised all over. "We have to get it to the Pokemon Center right away." Charles cut in. "You guys run ahead and warn the Pokemon Center that we're coming. My sisters and I can carry him there." Brooke and Charles nodded and ran ahead to the Island's Pokemon Center. Meanwhile, Logan gently picked up the Braviary and took him swiftly, but carefully, to the Center. 

Brooke and Charles waited for their friends to arrive at the Pokemon Center anxiously. It wasn't too long before Logan ran in and Nurse Joy helped him ease the Braviary onto a gurney and cart him away, leaving the trainers in the lobby. "I wonder what could've happened to start that fight..." Charles wondered aloud. "Who knows." 

"I just hope they'll be okay." Logan said, not taking his pale eyes off the hall Nurse Joy disappeared down. He sat beside his friends, and his sisters watched him, worriedly. "You all should go and enjoy the island while we're here. I want to stay for Braviary." 

"You want to stay?" 

"Yeah. I brought him here... I want to make sure he's okay." Brooke smiled a bit. "If you're staying, we all are." 

"Are you sure? It could take a while." 

"Of course. We don't want our friend sitting here alone." Charles nodded, and sat back, getting comfortable. Logan's sisters sat on the other side of him. "Thanks guys. I understand if you want to head back to the boat later." Logan smiled and tried to get comfortable himself, but it was obvious he was still anxious about the Braviary. 

Morning turned to afternoon, and turned to night, and all of them were getting tired. "Charlie, why don't you and Logan's sisters go back to the ship." He raised an eyebrow at her and stifled a yawn. "Are you sure, Brooklyn? We don't mind." He yawned again and she laughed a bit. "I'm sure. I'll stay here with Logan." 

"But you have a battle tomorrow in the competition, you need to be well rested." 

"I'll nap if I can. Right now Logan needs me. I'll make sure Logan and I are back on the ship by morning." After a moment Charlie nodded. "If you say so, Brooke." He stood and offered Maggie and Riley to join him, and they agreed quickly, eager to get into a comfy bed. They bid goodnight and left the center. 

It was quiet between Brooke and Logan for a while, and her eyes drifted down to Lukas who was sleeping in Charlie's space beside her. "You know, I know what you're going through right now, Logan." He turned to her. "You do?" She nodded. "Lukas has spent a couple nights in a Pokemon Center like this before." 

"What happened?" 

"Well, there was a time near the start of my journey. I had separated from Jordan and I was walking in a thunderstorm with just me and Lukas. We were being attacked by a Chandelure draining our energy. Since Lukas is smaller than me, it took him longer to wake up. He was still an eevee then." Brooke explained, running her hand along Lukas' back and he nuzzled closer to her in his sleep. "What was another time?" 

"The first time we met. I was on my way home from the Castelia Gym. I went there a lot to watch battles. My father's partner was walking me home since it had gotten late, and we heard a nasty fight going on in an alleyway. We went to check it out and saw Lukas, with barely any meat on his bones, getting into a fight over a piece of bread with a pidove and a patrat. My father's pokemon fought them off and we took Lukas to the pokemon center. He was there for a few days while he regained strength, and we bonded almost instantly." Brooke looked away from her friend and down at Lukas with the slightest smile. "And we've been together ever since then." 

"That's such a cute story!" Logan smiled for the first time since they'd brought in the Braviary. "Yeah. How did you meet Orval? You never told me." 

"I haven't? We met in Hoenn when I was a kid. I went hiking in a cave with my Dad, but we got lost. Luckily, Orval found us and he led us out of the caves safely. I talked to him almost the whole way out and told him about my dreams to travel the world. When we reached the exit, we didn't really want to say goodbye to each other, and my Dad gave me a pokeball and told me I should take Orval back to Johto with me. And we were so excited when my Mom took my sisters and I to a contest performance in Johto, and from then on we knew we wanted to compete like that." 

"That's a really sweet story, too, Logan!" He smiled again at her and she yawned, getting comfortable. "I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me up if Nurse Joy comes back." 

"Will do, Brooke." It didn't take long before she had drifted off into sleep, Lukas resting in her lap. Logan looked down to Orval, who looked just as worried as he did. "Come on, Orval. Why don't we do some practice? We may as well be productive while we're sitting here." 

"Aaaaron!" They quietly stood up and made their way to the back of the pokemon center where the training field was. Logan released Pyrois, Camilla, Lia, and Hades. Camilla sat off to the side and watched as Logan looked over the notes he'd made for a performance. "Okay! So... Let's take a look here! So Pyrois, you would start by making a huge flame wheel like a pillar, and we'd rise up out of that, and Hades, you'd use your club to make a hole for us to jump through, and Pyrois would get ride of the flames in a sparkly way. Can you guys do that? Let's try it." 

Meanwhile in the Pokemon Center, the Braviary was waking up. It looked around and saw it's leg was bandaged in a cast. Nurse Joy walked in. "Hello there, Braviary. I'm glad to see you're awake! That trainer that brought you in is still here, waiting for you." A light came from outside and they both looked over to see a large column of fire. "Oh look! There he is! He must be a contest performer!" The Braviary looked over to the boy who was watching his pokemon practicing, an excited smile was on his face. 

Logan smiled as a hole was made in Pyrois' flames, but was surprised when Hades looked different when he jumped out. His scull was bigger, and his body was much darker. There was a patch of dark brown in between his eyes, and his club was much bigger with two greenish flames on the ends. "Hades! You evolved into a Marowak!" Logan exclaimed excitedly. "Maro! Marowackkk!" He stood proud, and Pyrois got rid of the flame wheel, all the pokemon went to greet Hades excitedly. Logan reached down and picked him up, hugging him tightly. "You look fantastic, Hades! You'll look amazing on stage with your flames! There's so much we can do with this! I'm so proud of you!" He stopped when Nurse Joy walked outside. "Nurse Joy?" 

"That Braviary you brought in is awake." She informed him with a smile. The Braviary limped out behind her. Logan smiled and walked over to him. "Hi there, Braviary! I'm glad you're okay!" 

"Thank you for bringing Braviary in. This isn't the first time he's gotten hurt battling more pokemon than he can handle." Nurse Joy said as Logan's pokemon greeted Braviary. "It isn't?" 

"No. Braviary's parents are both very strong, and so are his brothers. Braviary is always putting on a show to prove how talented he is. Although he is a good battler, it's never been his strongest suit. He has always needed an outlet for his showboating." She explained. "An outlet, huh?" Logan said, looking down at the flying type pokemon getting along with his team. "Anyway, Braviary still needs more attention before he's back to full health, but he's okay to fly and get some practice walking on his legs again. Just make sure he doesn't go to far." 

"Count on me, Nurse Joy." She nodded and walked inside. "Say, Braviary, why don't you check out our performance? We could use an audience!" 

"Braaa!" He nodded, excitedly. "Sweet! Let's go guys, our old routine, from the top! Five, six, seven, eight..!" They put on their old performance, and Braviary looked on excitedly, his eyes glittering with the reflections of the pokemon moves. They were finished and panting a bit. They relaxed from their positions and looked down at Camilla and Braviary who were watching. "Well? What do you think?" 

"Braaa! Braviarrry! Braaaahaaha!" Braviary flapped his wings and smiled, showing he enjoyed it. He stood up, somewhat shakily and tried kicking around his good leg, trying to dance like they did. "Hey! Whoa there, Braviary, it may take some time before you can dance with your leg." Logan sat in front of him. "So, you like to dance, huh?" 

"Braaviarry." 

"Nurse Joy says you like to show off. I do, too." Logan chuckled. "I've always liked showing off, too. I've always tried to prove that guys can be great contest performers too. Hoenn is pretty progressive with that, but places like Kalos only have female performers. I want to show little boys that they can do this too, if they want to. People have told me that I should do something "more my speed" and be a battler or something. But I've always wanted to be a dancer. And sure they teased me about it, but that just gave me motivation to be a better dancer than them, so I could show them that they were wrong." As he looked in Braviary's eyes, he couldn't explain it, but there was some connection there. Like Braviary knew exactly what Logan was talking about. 

Suddenly, Logan yawned. "It's really late, you should be going back inside, Braviary." As Logan was about to stand up, Braviary held out his wings to stop him. "Huh? What is it?" As fast as he could, Braviary hobbled over to Logan's messenger bag and rifled through it. "Braviary? What are you doing?" Braviary yanked out a great ball and threw it on the ground, rolling it towards Logan. Slowly, Logan smiled. "I see." He reached down and picked up the great ball and winded up, throwing it at Braviary. It sucked him inside and rolled a few times before clicking. Logan rushed over and opened the pokeball again. "Welcome to the team, Braviary!" 

"Braaa!" 

"Although, now that you're part of the team, I should give you another name... Something as strong and cool as you are." 

"Brraa?" 

"Mulligan! How about that? I'll call you Mulligan." 

"Braaaviary!" He cawed excitedly and Logan smiled. "Sweet! Welcome to our team, Mulligan!" Logan returned all his pokemon and went to tell Brooke the good news.


	44. The Romance of the Champion

The ship pushed off from Erable Island and made coarse for the next one. While they went on their way, the second part of the first round went on, and they all waited to see who they would compete against. "Welcome, one and all, to the second part of the first round of the La Clave Islands battle cruise!" The audience all cheered. "Let's not waste any time and announce our fighters, huh? First up today, we have Logan versus Gabriel! Then, we have Percy against Alexander, then after them is Brooke against Charles. Then, finishing up the first round is Vincent facing Charlotte." Brooke felt herself smile and she looked over at Charlie. The last time she'd faced him in a real competitive battle is when they first met. "I won't go easy on you, Charlie, just because we're friends." 

"I would expect no less, Brooklyn." He smiled and nodded back. They both looked over at Logan. "Good luck, Logan! You've got this." 

"Use some of that strategy I suggested, Logan." Charles said as he walked past them. "Don't worry, guys, we've got this!" Logan smiled and made his way to the battlefield. Gabriel was a tall, pale man with dark green eyes, neat dirty blond hair, and purple glasses. "This will be a one-on-one battle. The match will be over when one side's pokemon is no longer able to battle. Are both trainers ready?" The ref asked, and they both nodded, taking a pokeball off their belt. "Release your pokemon." Gabriel released a sawsbuck in its spring form, and Orval jumped from Logan's side onto the field. "Battle, start!"

They both were fighting hard, it was obvious that it was an even match. "Sawsbuck, use energy ball!" The sawsbuck gathered energy in a bright greenish ball and shot it at Orval. "Protect, Orval!" A large blue shield went up around Orval, but the energy ball still persisted. "Keep it up, Orval! You've got this!" 

"Aaaaaaarooooonn!" He struggled, but suddenly a bright light filled the outdoor stadium. Orval began changing shape. He became much longer and ridges started to develop on his back. His legs became thicker and more defined, and the shield over his face became flatter. The glowing and changing stopped and he roared. "Laaaaaiiirroon!" 

"Whoa!" 

"Orval evolved into Lairon!" Charles exclaimed, excitedly. "Yes! This trip is coming up all Logan!" Logan cheered excitedly. "Great job, Orval! Now use rock slide and finish this!" A tumble of rocks appeared from the sky and fell around Sawsbuck, fainting it. "Sawsbuck is unable to battle! The winners are Logan and his Lairon, Orval!" The ref called and everyone cheered. Gabriel and Logan shook hands and returned to the trainers' dugout. "That was awesome, Logan! Congrats!" 

"Thanks! It was all Orval. Now he's a big strong Lairon!" 

Percy and Alexander were next. Percy was a shorter man with some freckles and dark, neat brown hair, and deep brown eyes with tan skin. Alexander was a pale guy with reddish brown hair and brown eyes as well, and had a very sporty style. Percy used a Sableye and Alexander used a Conkeldurr. It was a tough match, but Sableye's smaller size and sneaky moves made it a swifter opponent, which won Percy the match in the end. Next up, it was Charles and Brooke. "Remember what happened last time we had a real battle, Charles!" Brooke teased playfully from the other side of the field. "Yes, but I know you now, Brooklyn, and I won't be so easy to beat." He replied. "Are both trainers ready?" 

"Yes." They replied at the same time. "Then hold out your chosen pokeball." Brooke thought for a moment, then picked a ball off her belt. "Release your pokemon!" 

"Go Ophelia!" Charles released his partnered Dratini. "Oshima, I choose you!" Brooke released her trusty Typhlosion. "Battle begin!" 

"Oshima, use Swift!" 

"Dodge it, Ophelia! Use Aqua tail!" It was a hit, and super effective. "Defense curl, Oshima! Then swift again!" It was a hit this time. "Dragon tail, Ophelia!" The dratini's tail glowed purple and she swung it at Oshima, sending him backwards. "Roll, Oshima!" He tucked himself into a ball as best he could and rolled on the ground, sliding back on his feet, minimizing the damage. "Now, swift again!" As the attack hit, Ophelia began glowing and Brooke's eyes went wide. The opposing dragon type became much longer and taller wings developed on the sides of her head, and her spike became longer, and several blue orbs developed on her neck and tail. The glowing stopped and Brooke and Oshima were stunned to see Ophelia had evolved into dragonair. 

"Aqua tail, Ophelia." It was another hit and both pokemon were wearing thin. Brooke needed to stall for a moment. She smiled and looked up at Charles. "You know me well, Charlie! You knew I'd pick Oshima, didn't you?" He smirked slightly and put his hand to his chin. "Three of my five pokemon are particularly weak to fire types, having a grass type, an ice type, and a steel type. If I picked any other pokemon, you'd have an increased chance of winning. I knew you'd think like that so I picked my one pokemon that has a resistance to your typing, knowing you'd become a bit frustrated. And I knew Ophelia was close to evolving, and you'd become even more stuck when it happened during our battle." 

"You may be right, Charles. When you released Ophelia, I did become frustrated momentarily, but then I remembered something. Something very important. See, you're not the only one one who knows the other well. I also know that if I asked you wouldn't resist talking about your strategy for beating me, but while you did that, you gave Oshima and I a moment to regroup. And despite your type advantage, we're just getting warmed up!" His face fell and she smiled, her adrenaline pumping through her body. "See, his ability is Blaze, which increases his attack stat with fire type moves in a pinch!" His eyes widened in realization. "Oshima! Use flame charge!" Oshima surrounded himself in flames and with incredible speed, he lunged at Ophelia and punched her, sending her flying back to Charles' feet, knocked out. Oshima's fire wore off. "Ophelia is unable to battle! Brooke and Oshima are the winners!" Brooke cheered and hugged her Typhlosion happily. "I have to admit, Brooke, you bested me again."

"Sorry, Charles, I know you hate being proven wrong." 

"Although it does irk me, don't worry about it. Every time I battle you, I learn something new. They shook hands and walked back off the field. "Don't get too comfortable in the winning spot, Brooklyn. Soon, you'll be kicked out of the running just like your puny friend here." Vanessa scoffed when she came back, turning on her heel and walking out. Brooke snarled and made a move to march after her, but Charles held out an arm, stopping her. "Don't go, Brooke. It's not worth it. That was a great match, and you deserve to feel proud." She sighed and looked away. "Thanks, Charles." She mumbled. Charlie didn't smile, either.

Next up was Vincent against Charlotte. Vincent was a tall man with thick dark hair and vibrant blue eyes, and wore a leather jacket, and Charlotte was a nicely dressed brunette girl with blonde highlights in her hair and bright blue eyes. Charlotte used a Charmeleon and Vincent used a Zebstrika. It was a short mach with Charlotte coming out as the winner. 

And with that, the first round was up and the cruise boat docked at Suuri Island around noon. As they were all getting off to look around the island, someone called to them from behind. "Bonjour!" They all turned to see Alex walking off the ship behind them. "I was hoping to run into you all." 

"Alex! Hey there!" 

"Oh, Alex! These are my little sisters, Maggie and Riley! Guys, this is Alex, the Maroh Champion." 

"Whoa! You guys know the Maroh Champion!?" Riley gasped, "Just one of the benefits of being on your journey." Brooke winked. "Come on, I want you guys to try some of the best ice cream you'll ever have." 

"Come on, Alex, I'm sure it can't beat a Castelia cone." Brooke replied as the champion walked past them, leading the way. "I wouldn't be too sure, Brooke. Come on." It was the largest island in the La Claves, but it still felt very small in comparison to other towns in the Maroh Region. Alex took them right to a small shop that was a bakery on one side, and connected to an ice cream shoppe on the other side. Alex took them in through the bakery side first and she leaned on the counter. A tall girl with dark toned skin and long black hair worked the counter with a Vanillish, and in the bakery there was a man in the back with the same dark skin and black hair with an Infernape. "Two cinnamon buns, please!" Alex called into the back and the man turned, and his face lit up when he saw them. "Alex!" He rushed over, leaving his partner to take care of the bread he was baking. He hopped over the counter and hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you're back! I've missed you!" 

"I've missed you too. Anyway, these are the trainers I was telling you about. This is Brooke, Charles, and Logan. And Logan's two younger sisters, Riley and Maggie. Everyone, this is Emil, my fiance." Emil wrapped his arm around Alex's waist. "Alex! I didn't know you were engaged! Congratulations!" Brooke smiled. "We've actually been keeping it secret. We don't want a bunch of reporters following us around asking questions about the wedding." 

"Oh my goodness! When is it?" Logan asked, excited about a celebrity wedding that no one knew about but him...and his friends. "It's actually at the end of the cruise on Agumes Island. But shhh, it's a secret." 

"A secret celebrity wedding!?" Logan gasped excitedly. Alex turned to Brooke. "Anyway, how is your training going?" 

"Really well! I just need three more badges until I'm league eligible. We're using this as a training opportunity for me for when I challenge the leader in Histo City." Alex smiled. "Good thing you didn't head right there. The gym leader there, Vol, is coming to my wedding." 

"Oh really?" 

"She's the one who designed my dress. She's a very popular designer across the globe. She creates lots of high-end fashion, and is a very close friend of mine. I think you two will get along well!" Alex smiled. "Hey, Emil! How about instead of socializing, you get back to work! We need to get this order filled before we leave tomorrow morning!" The woman from the ice cream shop called to him. "Alright, alright, relax." Emil quickly kissed Alex's cheek and climbed back over the counter to continue helping his Infernape. "That's Amanda, Emil's sister. Their family runs these two shops, and they're closing them for a week for the wedding." Alex explained. "Now come on, this stuff is definitely better than any Castelia cone." Alex said, leading them all to the other side to the ice cream shoppe. 

"Amanda specializes in making ice cream from berries to help pokemon be the best they can be." Alex explained, showing the list of berries Amanda offered. "What do you think, buddy?" Brooke asked, looking down at Lukas. "Brooklyn, if I may, I know which berries are best for a dark type like Lukas." Charles stepped in and she raised an eyebrow. "Okay academy boy. What do you got?" 

"Chople and Tanga berries would be perfect. They help lower the effect of super effective bug and fighting type moves against the user." Brooke smiled and nodded and ordered ice cream from those berries for Lukas as Charles told the others what would be best for their partners as well. 

Brooke got the dish of ice cream and placed it down in front of Lukas. He began lapping it up. "Well, bud? What do you think?" 

"Umbreee!" He squealed happily and began eating it more heartily. She smiled and rubbed him between his ears. "I'm glad! Good recommendation, Charlie!" 

"I do my best." He smiled. "We should be getting back to the ship for the night." Logan chimed in, and they all agreed. They bid goodnight to Alex, Emil, and Amanda and headed back to the cruiser.


	45. An Atrocious Pokemon on the Loose!

Brooke was pumped and ready to go for the second round of battling on the cruise. Emil and his sister, Amanda had joined them on the cruise since the wedding was at the end of this whole thing. 

"Allllriiight! Is everyone ready for the second round of battling!?" The announcer called out and everyone cheered excitedly. "Okay then! Let's take a look at today's match-ups! Starting off today, we have Vanessa against Percy! Then, there's Logan versus Riley! Brooke against Theodore! And last, Michael against Charlotte." 

Vanessa pushed past Brooke as she made her way up to the battlefield and Brooke glared at her, wishing her bad luck in the battle. But, unfortunately for her, Vanessa was the victor with a Milotic against Percy's espeon. 

Up next was Logan against his little sister, Riley. Riley released a Sylveon named Millie and Logan released Pyrois. It was a tough battle between them, but Logan was ultimately the winner. However, there was no doubt that after training and a journey, Riley would make a great fairy type gym leader. 

Brooke was up next against Theodore. She stood across the field from him and readied her next pokemon. "Trainers, are you ready?" They nodded. "Then release your pokemon!" Theodore threw out a Growlithe and Brooke smiled. She knew how to fight a Growlithe. She released her pokemon. "Come on, Gawain!" Her Kirlia stood, ready for battle. "Battle, begin!" 

"Gawain! Use calm mind." 

"Growlithe, use Crunch!" The foe's growlithe raced forward and chomped down on Gawain. "Psychic!" The growlithe was pried off Gawain and thrown all the way across the field. "Nice job! Now confusion!" 

"Growlithe! Use Flamethrower!" 

"Confusion again!" It was a hit and the Growlithe became confused. "Yes! Nice job, Gawain! Now Psychic! One last time!" It was a direct hit and the Growlithe was down. "Yeah! We did it, Gawain!" 

"Kirrla!" He was proud of himself. Brooke gave him a fist bump and returned him to his pokeball. 

The next match between Michael and Charlotte was a longer on. It ended with Michael as the winner with his Tirtuga, against Charlotte and her daytime Lycanroc. 

Brooke went back to the room and went straight to the phones. She knew the number by heart and dialed it in. It rang up a few times before his face appeared on the screen. "Brookie!" 

"Hey, Jordan! Long time no see!" 

"How are you? How is everyone?" 

"We're all great! How are you? And your classes?" Jordan smiled. "I'm great. Everything's great. I was just out with some friends last night, so I'm a little tired today." 

"You're not staying out too late, are you?"

"No, mom." Jordan teased and she rolled her eyes. "Very funny." 

"So, tell me everything! What have I missed since I left?" 

"Ooo! Well, remember Logan's shiny delcatty, Camilla?" 

"Yeah." 

"Well, she and Solomon are in love! It's so cute! And Orval and Ophelia have evolved. And Logan caught a Braviary he rescued and named him Mulligan." 

"Wow! That's so much! Too bad I can't be there to meet him. And that reminds me! I have some new updates with my team, too." 

"Really!? What are they?" 

"Ryder and Rip have evolved!" Jordan smiled proudly. "Really!? Cooper and Oshima will be so happy for them! It's hard to believe that Cooper and Ryder were training buddies not too long ago." 

"I know, I know, it feels like forever. And I have a new addition, too." 

"Who?" 

"She's a Haunter I found. Her name is Jupiter. She's a bit shy but she works really hard and is a great companion. You'd like her a lot!" 

"I'm so happy you're settling in well over there. This is what you've dreamed about for a long time." 

"I know. Sometimes it's strange for even me to believe this is happening." 

"It's too bad you're not here though, Alex just told us she's getting married and we met her fiance. But shhh, don't tell anyone. It's a secret wedding." 

"Aww man! I'm so jealous!" Jordan paused a moment, and Brooke was sensing there was something he wanted to tell her, but he didn't. "We're docking at Sakana Island. Everyone will be waiting for me, I should go." 

"Yeah. You should, I'll call you again soon." 

"Yeah, maybe you can get some time off and visit me somewhere." 

"Totally! I'd like that. Just let me know." 

"Will do. Talk to you soon." 

"Bye, Brookie." 

"Bye, Jordan." 

They hung up and Brooke sighed. "Umbre?" 

"I'm okay, Lukas. I just miss seeing him, but I'm glad he's happy over there. Who knows, he may even finally get a girlfriend." She snickered and stood up, putting her jacket back on and walking to meet her friends on the dock. 

She walked down and smiled when she saw all of them. "Hey, guys! So, what's on the agenda? What's going on?" 

"Well, there seems to be some sort of magikarp catching competition. There are prizes for the ones to catch the biggest magikarp by the end of the day." Charles explained. "All right! Let's go get some fishing rods and join this contest! How hard can catching a big magikarp be?" 

Brooke was eating her words as she sat on the dock, her head in her fist. She had been sitting there for what felt like hours, and had only gotten one or two bites from a couple magikarp not worth catching and she was bored out of her mind. She glanced over at Logan and Riley, who also looked like they were getting bored, Maggie was taking a break and eating a snack she'd brought, but Charles was sitting there calmly and patiently. She groaned dramatically and lay back on the towels the brought to sit on. "This is the most boring thing ever! Nothing exciting has happened." 

"Fishing isn't supposed to be that exciting until you catch something, Brooke. You're supposed to focus on the fish and let the time go." 

"Yeah, that's boring." 

Suddenly, a gyarados appeared out of the water near the opposite end of the board walk. It let out a deafening screech, from where they were they could tell its eyes were beading and red. It used hydro pump on the boardwalk, breaking the wood and letting it fall into the ocean. People started screaming and running for shelter as the Gyarados continued screaming and sending out random attacks. "It's going on a rampage!" 

"We have to stop it!" Brooke yelled, jumping to her feet. "We can't do anything, Brooke, we can't stop a rampaging pokemon!" Charles shouted as they gathered all their items and began running to the Pokemon Center. "I have to do something, don't I?" She replied impatiently. Without waiting for a reply she released Sophia into the water and kicked off her sneakers and jacket. "Brooke! What are you doing!" She didn't answer and dove into the water, grabbing a hold of Sophia. "Let's go, girl!" Her floatzel sped off in the water, ignoring her friends and partner calling after her, begging for her to come back. 

"Stop by that rock, there! We have to lead it away from the island." Sophia stopped by a rock and Brooke climbed onto it, her bare feet finding some traction on the slippery surface. "Use whirlpool!" Sophia raised her arms and developed a large whirlpool over her head and threw it at the Gyarados. But Brooke's heart began beating even faster, when it was hardly damaged and it turned to her angrily. Brooke swallowed. "Okay, we got it's attention! Let's keep moving, Sophia!" It unleashed a hyper beam and Brooke dove into the water to avoid it, when she resurfaced she saw that the rock was demolished. Sophia swam over and picked her up and they kept swimming away, leading the rampaging pokemon away from the island. 

They kept leading it far from the island, Sophia occasionally challenging it more and more to keep it following them, and they had a couple close calls with attacks. But suddenly, when the island was just out of view, a net came from the water and wrapped up gyarados. Sophia and Brooke stopped and watched as several boats sped over. They were all identical white speedboats with a bright blue "S" painted on the side. "Team Sapphire! What do you all want with this Gyarados!" They looked over. "Not this brat again!" 

"How'd she lead Gyarados away from the island!?" 

"It doesn't matter, the plans aren't off, yet! Go, Sharpedo! Take care of them!" One grunt released his pokemon, and the others started to follow. Soon, there were several Sharpedo and Mareanie surrounding them. "Solomon, help us out!" Brooke released her Luxray. "Solomon, use thunder! Sophia, use Whirlpool! Get them out of here!" Solomon let his tail in the water and conducted his electricity through it, electrocuting all the opponents' pokemon, the ships, and the Team Sapphire members themselves. "Thanks, guys. Return, Solomon. Sophia, get me to one of those boats." She returned Solomon and jumped on Sophia's back again, and headed to what looked like the lead ship. She hopped over the side. The boat's machinery was fried from her thunder attack, and the grunts were groaning in pain. "What did Team Sapphire want with this Gyarados!?" 

"As if we'd tell a brat like you." One of them spat. Brooke put a hand to her belt, threatening to release another one of her pokemon. "Okay! Okay! Fine! Our plan was to distract the police with the rampaging Gyarados so we could steal the pokemon from the island." 

"So you aggravated this poor pokemon for your own selfish reasons!?" 

"This Gyarados will be saved! Along with all the rest of the Pokemon in the Maroh Region when our leader finally frees them to the care of Team Sapphire, and those who can care for them!" Brooke rolled her eyes and jumped from the boat, back onto Sophia. "Use ice punch on Gyarados' net and get us back to the island! We have to get back there immediately." 

Gyarados was freed, and had finally calmed down. They raced back to the island as fast as they could, maybe Team Sapphire's plans hadn't gone through.

Back on the Island, everyone was in the Pokemon Center. Charles was nervously pacing, Lukas was staring at the door, waiting for his trainer to return, and Logan was holding onto the clothes that Brooke had left behind. The police were checking the damage of the wreckage and helping anyone who may have gotten hurt or trapped. "Are you all okay?" They looked over when Alex and Emil raced over to them. "Brooke went out to lead Gyarados away, that's why it left so quickly. She's been gone for almost an hour and she isn't back yet." 

"I'll take Aria out after them!" Alex made a move to leave the Center, but her fiance stopped her. "Alex, no, it's too dangerous. We'll give her some more time, she should be back soon." Reluctantly, Alex nodded and stayed, knowing he was right. 

Brooke and Sophia finally arrived back at the Island and were relieved to see that the only damage done was by the Gyarados. She climbed back up onto the boardwalk and returned Sophia. "Good job, girl. You deserve a long rest." She walked back into the Center, soaking wet and tired. "UMBREE!" She stopped in her tracks when Lukas raced up to her and jumped in her arms. She laughed a bit. "Sorry I left you behind, buddy!" He nuzzled her cheek. "Brooke!" Several voices yelled and everyone raced up to her. "Hey everyone!"

"Brooke! Thank goodness you're all right! You had all of us worried sick!" Charles scolded, although there was nothing in his voice but relief. He wrapped a towel around her shoulders and Lukas jumped back to the ground. "I'm okay, guys, really." She went and sat down on the couches and started drying herself off. "I just want a nice long, warm shower, a good meal, and to go to bed. Fighting a Gyarados and Team Sapphire and swimming that much can wear a girl out." 

"Team Sapphire?" Alex repeated. "Right." Brooke nodded. "They were behind all of this. Their plan was to distract the police with Gyarados and lead them away from the island, and steal all the pokemon." Brooke explained, squeezing her hair into the towel. "Well, we can't worry about that right now. We're just lucky that Brooke's okay and she kept them from taking out their plans. You all get her back to the cruise, Emil and I will talk to Officer Jenny." They nodded and Brooke eagerly walked with her friends back to the ship. 

Somewhere in the Maroh Region, Team Sapphire's base was hidden and the four elites stood at attention in front of a hologram of their boss. "I can't believe our operation at Sakana Island failed! How did this happen?" 

"It's that girl again, Sir. Brooklyn Areca." 

"Hmmm... And what about her friend? The boy? Is he still at the Ranger Academy?" 

"Yes, Sir." 

"He hasn't come around, yet, has he." 

"No, Sir, but we persist." The boss' fists tightened. "Good. And what of the machine?" 

"Preparations are coming along well. The other operations we've used as distractions from Professor Pine's facilities have proved fruitful. They focus so much on the pokemon, they don't realize we're always after the technology." The boss smiled wickedly. "Good." 

"And Sir." 

"Yes, Maroon?" 

"We've learned that the Champion is on the Battle Cruise currently, and while the Gyarados was attacking, we learned which room was hers." 

"And?" 

"Well, Sir, it we can get a handle on her pokemon, that would inhibit her when our plans go into effect." The boss thought for a moment, and nodded. "Go through with it, Maroon. I give you control of this operation. Do not disappoint me. You're all dismissed." They all saluted "Yes, Sir!" They answered in unison and the hologram disappeared.


	46. Cool Night Air

Brooke got to the arena just in time as the host was announcing that day's match-ups. "We have just two quick matches today, folks! Fist up we have Logan against Michael, and second we have Brooke versus Vanessa." 

"Heh, finally. Get ready to be put in your place, Brooklyn." Vanessa taunted her. "I was going to say the same to you." 

She turned her attention to the field as Logan went up for his match against Michael. On their cue, Michael released a Sawsbuck and Logan released his pikachu, Lia. After a tough fight, Michael was the winner and Logan was out of the competition. "Sorry, Logan." 

"That's okay, I'm just glad I've made it this far. Hopefully you have better luck than me, Brooke." 

"Yeah, let's hope so." Brooke climbed up onto the field and stood across from her rival. "Trainers! Release your chosen pokemon!" At the same time, Brooke released Solomon and Vanessa released a Salazzle named Azar. "Battle, begin!" 

"Nasty Plot, Azar." 

"Thunder fang!" 

"Dodge it and use toxic." At the last possible second, the Salazzle side-stepped and dodged the attack expertly. It shot purple darts at Solomon and his face turned purple. "Solomon! Hang in there! Thunder!" 

"Flame burst, Azar." 

"Thunder fang, let's go!" 

"Dodge it." Every time Solomon jumped at Azar, she shifted just out of the way. Solomon tried the attack, and ended up face-to-face with Azar. "Sludge Bomb. End this." Vanessa commanded and the muddy toxins splattered all over Solomon's face. He teetered a bit, then fell to his side. "Solomon is no longer able to battle. Vanessa and Azar are the winners!" 

"Solomon! No!" Brooke raced out into the field and Vanessa returned her Salazzle. Brooke held her fainted pokemon in her arms. "Thank you, Solomon, you deserve a good rest." She was about to return him when Vanessa stepped in front of her. "No matter what you do, Brooklyn. You'll never be able to defeat me." Brooke didn't look up at her rival. "Just face it, you've never been able to beat me, even if you somehow make it to the Maroh League. I already have seven badges, you only have five." She returned Solomon and stood up, glaring at her rival. "I can beat you, Vanessa. I will beat you." 

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. But we both know the truth. You'll never live up to your father. So why don't you run on back to Playa Town before you embarrass yourself, daddy's girl." Vanessa hissed and walked past, purposefully bumping shoulders with Brooke on her way out. She followed. "Brooklyn--" 

"I don't feel well, go on to Pieni Island without me." Was all Brooke said as she walked past. All her friends exchanged worried looks. 

That night, Brooke couldn't sleep at all. Vanessa's words echoed in her head, and she couldn't relax. Quietly, so as to not disturb her pokemon, or Logan's sisters, she left the bedroom and walked to the outer deck. She was the only one out there, and the only sound was the crashing of the waves against the sides of the boat as it sat docked at the island. The night was so cool and clean. The salty air swept in from the ocean around her in every direction. And as she looked up she could see thousands upon thousands of stars twinkling along with the glowing moon up in the sky. She took a deep breath as she felt a few tears gather in her eyes. 

Vanessa was right. She could never hold a candle to her father. She'd lived in his shadow her whole life so far, and she always would. She wouldn't just be "Brooke Areca". She'd be "Brooklyn Areca, the gym leader's daughter." Brooke leaned on the side of the bow facing the wide ocean. She bit her lip as a lump grew in her throat. She tried fighting the feeling off, but the voices in her head were too strong and she began to cry. Burning tears streamed down her face and mixed with the salt water of the sea below her. Her hands went to her face and the tears stained her hands. "Brooklyn?" She gasped and turned to see Chales standing there, looking worried. "Oh! Charles! I came out to look at the ocean, and the salt water got in my eyes." She laughed casually, wiping her face with her hand. "Well, I should get inside and wash up." She tried to walk past him but he reached out and grabbed her arm. "Brooke, wait." 

"What is it?" 

"Please, sit down." He gestured to a bench against the wall. Brooke sighed and slumped down beside Charles. "Tell me what's wrong." Brooke turned and looked into his hazel eyes. They were warm and sincere, and glistened against the inky sky. "Is it about your battle today?" He guessed correctly. She nodded and looked down, feeling tears swelling up again. "Brooke, Solomon fought really hard today." 

"I know! I know he did... It's not about him, Charles, it's about me. I don't want to let him--or the rest of the team--down. They work so hard for me, but I can't pay them back for doing so much for me. I'm such an inadequate trainer." 

"Brooke, I know it's tough losing a battle, especially to a trainer like Vanessa, but you should feel proud of the way that you're so in sync with your pokemon. You're a talented and compassionate trainer who's always patient with her team and never moves on when they're not ready, and in the end, that's what counts. That's what makes you such a great trainer. You work hard to bring out each of your pokemon's unique strengths and styles." She looked over at him and saw honesty in his eyes. "You're a gifted trainer, Brooke. You will be champion somewhere, someday, and I'm lucky to call you my friend." She finally smiled a bit. "Thank you, Charles. You always know what to say to make me feel better." He smiled back at her. "Ready to go in?" 

"Not yet, I want to stay out here a little longer." He nodded. "Okay." They sat out there for a while, listening to the waves and taking in the stars. 

As he sat there, next to her, Charlie could feel it. This was the perfect time to tell her. He was too nervous to look over at her, so he looked down. "Brooklyn, there's something I should say."  
He took a deep breath. "For the longest time, I've had certain, undeniable, feelings for you. Ever since I met you, you've drawn me in with this strange magnetism. There's always been something about you that I've found so incredible. It has, even me, at a loss for words. You make me feel nervous and happy all at the same time, something I've never felt around anyone before. Around you, I feel warm and... complete. Before I knew you, I never realized there was something missing from my life. Brooklyn, I believe that I am--" He cut off when her head fell on his shoulder. He looked over and saw that she was asleep. She had been asleep this whole time. He sighed quietly and felt himself frown a bit. "Okay... let's get you back." He reached his arms around her and picked her up and carried her inside, down the hall, and back to her room in bed.


	47. After a Key Stone

The trainers were on their way to breakfast on the ship when some police officers ran past them. "That's the second set of officers we've seen run by here. What's that all about?" Maggie asked. "I don't know, I haven't heard anything." As they rounded a corner, they saw a police officer standing at the door to the restaurant. Brooke stepped over to her. "Excuse me, we've seen a lot of Police Officers running around down here, what's going on?" 

"Some thieves broke into rooms all around the ship and stole valuable pokemon and items. The Champion's pokemon were gone when she woke up this morning." She informed them, they frowned and exchanged glances. "Alex..." 

"We have to go see if she's okay!" They forgot all about breakfast and immediately went to Alex's room. She was sitting on her bed with Emil comforting her while Police Officers investigated the room. "Alex! We heard about what happened, are you okay?"

"My pokemon are gone! And my key stone and mega stones too!" She replied woefully. "Your key stone?" She nodded. "I had them all in locked briefcases when I went to sleep last night, and when I woke up this morning they were gone. They got in through that window." She nodded to a window to a small deck. "I couldn't latch it last night, like there was something in the way, but I didn't try too hard to fix it." 

"There are similar thefts all over the ship. Key stones, mega stones, and valuable or strong pokemon are all missing, and all of them reported something obstructing their windows." Emil elaborated and Brooke's heart stopped beating. Her face went pale. "Brooke? Logan? Are you both okay?" Emil asked, and the trainers looked to each other, they had the same expression. "My window didn't shut last night..." 

"Mine didn't either... "

"But my pokemon are still with me." 

"Mine too." 

"So... you don't think...?" There was a moment of pause and at the same time Brooke and Logan bolted out of Alex's room and down the stairs to their deck. 

Brooke flew through the door and went straight for her bag. She threw out potions and berries and her special green apple sour candies and grabbed the box the jeweler had given her so long ago, but when she opened it she felt feint. Both her key stone and her Salamencite were gone. "No...No no no no no! No they can't be gone!" She continued filtering through her things, but it was obvious that two of her most prized possessions were gone. Stolen. "Umbre...." Lukas stepped up to her and rubbed his head along her hand, comforting her. Suddenly her shock and guilt turned to rage. "Come on, Lukas. We're going to find out who did this. They won't get away with it." She stood and went to her window, feeling around. She noticed that the bottom was wet and slippery, and there was a small pool of water on the carpet by the window. 

She and Logan arrived back at Alex's room. "They're gone. Someone stole ours, too." 

"My key stone and Aggronite are gone." Their friends looked at them sympathetically. Brooke looked around and saw a pool of water in the carpet by Alex's window, too. "There's a pool of water by your window." 

"What about it?" Riley asked as Charles walked over to investigate it. "There was one by my window, too." 

"Mine too." Logan chimed in. Charlie felt the windowsill and sniffed it. "This must be how the thieves got in! They iced the windowsill so the window wouldn't shut, and it melted by the time everyone woke up and realized what'd happened." 

"How do you figure that?" 

"This isn't salt water, which means someone either just went around and poured water on the windows, or it was ice." Charles explained, obviously proud of himself for figuring it out. "Officer Jenny! The security tapes have been finalized. You're going to want to watch this!" One of the officers ran in. They all followed Officer Jenny to the security room and crowded around the screens. 

They showed stealthy figures jumping into each room and stealing just what they came there for and leaving undetected. "And look at the times, they all came in and out at the same exact times. This is one coordinated group." 

"We've had reports of pirates in this area. This must be them." Jenny replied, crossing her arms. "I'm not so sure, Jenny. I think it was Team Sapphire." 

"Them again? How do you know?" 

"Look here." Alex paused the video and pointed to the one in Logan's room. Through the black and white footage they could tell there was a darker "S" on the back of their uniforms. "Okay, so it was Team Sapphire. But there's no way of telling where they are, now. They could be on any of the islands, or headed back to the mainland. Or they could have a ship parked out in the ocean somewhere. There's no way of telling." Charles pointed out. "I know where they're headed." Alex answered. "Jenny, I need a boat. Something for all of us." 

"At your service." 

"All of you, follow me." They followed Alex and Officer Jenny out to a police boat strapped with the life boats. They all hopped in and were lowered down to the water. "So, Alex! How do you know where they are?" 

"I've heard a lot of reports from the Playa Town gym leader and the Histo City gym leader that there has been a lot of Team Sapphire activity in Peatus City. We think they may have set up a small base there. That's the nearest place they would have taken the stolen items. "I just don't get what they'd want with items they can't use like Aggronite or Galladite. They don't use those pokemon." 

"My guess is to sell them, powerful pokemon-- especially a champion's pokemon-- will get a high price from poachers and smugglers. They can sell the mega stones too, and keep the water types, ice types, and key stones for themselves to power themselves up." 

"That sounds like Team Sapphire." 

"But they're not going to get away with this! No one steals an item like that from me and gets away with it!" 

"Me too. I'm getting that back for Orval no matter what." 

"Good to hear. We'll be at Peatus City soon. Officer Jenny will have let the police force in Peatus City know we'll be there. We need to get all those items back." Brooke nodded. The city came into view and Alex docked their ship, and some police officers met them there and helped them out of the ship. 

"We believe we know where Team Sapphire's hide-out is, but it's swarming with their members, and I'm afraid we may not have enough power without the Champion's pokemon on our side to get them all back. "Maybe I can help." They all looked over to see a tall, young woman with long, wavy pale blue hair coming towards them with an Altaria flying behind her. "Vol! Wonderful, you got my message." Alex smiled. The Champion turned to Brooke. "Brooke, this is Vol, the Histo City Gym Leader and famous fashion designer." Vol looked over at her. She had bright green eyes and wore a dress with a white top, one sleeve was blue and the other was red, with the opposite color pins on each side, a thick pale red belt, and a blue skirt with two thick white stripes. "So you're Brooke, it's nice to finally meet you. Alex told me a lot about you." 

"Nice to meet you, too, Vol! I can't wait to challenge you next. This is my partner, Lukas." 

"I'm Logan, and this is my partner, Orval." 

"I am Charles, and this is Ophelia." 

"The pleasure is all mine, I just wish the circumstances were different." Vol frowned and shook her head. "We all do." 

"Now, where is this base? Orval and I have to get back our key stone and Aggronite." Logan asked, turning to Officer Jenny." 

"Well, I suppose we have a better chance now than we did. This way, we'll take you there." The officers led them through the streets of the city and finally to an old abandoned apartment building near the edge of town. "We got a tip that the stolen items are on a lower level. Vol, why don't you go with the rest of the officers and I. Alex, you take these young trainers with you to find those things, it's likely to be well guarded if they put in so much trouble to steal such valuable pokemon and items." 

"Got it." 

They slowly neared the building and came up on a large window. Alex checked the coast and nodded, letting them know it was clear. She jumped in first and they all followed her. As they quietly walked through the halls, Brooke couldn't help but wonder if that anonymous tip Officer Jenny mentioned was from Everest. 

"HEY! What are you doing here!?" They turned to see a small group of Team Sapphire grunts standing behind them. "Shoot, we're caught!" One of the grunts rushed to the wall, opened a capsule, and pressed a large blue button. After a second, alarm sirens began going off and flashing lights filled the hallways. "Alex! You and Brooke go find that room and get what we need! We'll hold them off!" Emil turned too her and released his Infernape. "Are you sure?" Alex asked, obviously worried about her fiance. "We'll be fine, we can take care of them for now." The others released their pokemon too to fight off the Team Sapphire members. Alex turned to Brooke and nodded and they ran ahead. All the halls looked the same, and they broke open door after door with no luck. "Brooke, you should release Cooper." Alex paused and said to her. "Cooper? Why?" 

"Since it's his mega stone that's missing, he'll have a better chance of finding it." 

"But we haven't used it yet. He's still only a Shelgon." 

"That doesn't matter, he's a part of that line, so he'll have a connection to it. I would release my Charizard, or my partner, December, or my Lucario, but I don't have them with me. This is our best shot." Alex said. Brooke took out Cooper's pokeball and released him. "Okay, buddy, we need your help on this." She crouched down so she was closer to eye level. "Concentrate, where is your Salamencite?" Brooke was unsure if this would work, but if Alex was right, they needed to try. She reached out and placed a hand on Cooper's shell. She could feel him focusing as he closed his eyes. Suddenly, his eyes opened again. "Sheeell!" He bounced excitedly. "You know where it is?" 

"Shelgonnn!" 

"Lead the way, big guy!" He turned and hobbled as fast as he could down the hall, and they all followed him. They took a left, then a right, passed a corridor, then took another left and were met by the sight of maybe a dozen Team Sapphire grunts knocked out on the floor. There were scorch marks and dents in the wall and floor, indicating a battle happened here not too long ago. They cautiously made their way through the hall, in case this was a trap of some kind and got to the door at the end of the hall. "Is it in there, Cooper?" 

"Shelll."

"Brooke, look." Alex pointed to some sort of scanner with a key card taped to it with a note that just had the initials "E.C." on it. Brooke took the key card and tapped it to the scanner, and the door slid open with a loud clang. They stepped inside to see dozens upon dozens of pokeballs in briefcases, and a whole bag of key stones, mega stones, and other items. "Great job, Cooper, I'm proud of you." Brooke smiled and pat his shell. "Sheelllgon." He replied, happily as Brooke returned him. Alex radioed to Officer Jenny, telling her they found the items, and sent their location. 

The Team Sapphire members left behind were arrested and taken away while the rest of them retrieved all the Pokemon and items from the room Brooke and Alex discovered. Alex was having a happy reunion with her team outside the building as the sun began to set. "Gosh, I'm exhausted." Brooke said windedly and sat down on a rock. Charles and Logan joined her. "Me too. Sometimes I forget how exhausting Team Sapphire can be." Logan agreed. "I'm just glad you and Alex were able to retrieve everything. I'd never seen you both so upset before." Charles looked over at them. "Key Stones are special. They're like a representation of the bond you share with your Pokemon. Besides, all the credit really goes to Cooper. He's the one who locked on to its energy and tracked everything down." Brooke replied and turned to Logan. "I'm sure Orval would have been able to do the same." 

"That is amazing. I had no idea pokemon could lock on to the energy of their mega stones. Even if they haven't used them before." Charles' eyes sparkled the way they always did whenever he learned something new. "Do they teach you much about Mega Evolution in the academy?" 

"There's a basic Mega Evolution class, but after that you only learn about your pokemon type in respect to that." 

"So what pokemon did you learn about after that?" 

"Let's see... there's Alakazam, Gardevoir, Medicham, Slowbro, Metagross, Gallade, and there are reports of Mega Mewtwo, Mega Latios, and Mega Latias. Although, there are a lot of debates on the Mega Mewtwo theory. After all, it was a manufactured pokemon, so many professionals are unsure if it would even be able to, and those who claim to have seen it disagree on what Mega Mewtwo even looks like, some claim that its much bulkier, and others say it gets slimmer. Personally, I like Professor Sycamore's theory that since Charizard has two different Mega forms, then Mewtwo could too--" 

"Charles, I just asked for a list, I didn't need a whole essay." Logan interrupted, teasingly. Brooke snickered "Oh, come on, Logan, you know he has to get out these little nerd-ing rants, otherwise he'll explode." 

"You're right, Brooke, my apologies, Charlie." 

"Ha Ha. Very funny." Charles replied sarcastically as Brooke and Logan snickered at his expense. "Hey you guys! The ship is heading back to the cruiser soon!" Alex called to them. "Actually, if it's okay with everyone. I was hoping to head to Histo City from here in the morning. We've all been eliminated from the competition, and we're back anyway." Brooke replied and Logan and Charlie agreed. "All right, I'll see you all soon, then." Alex waved and headed with Emil onto the boat and the young trainers collected their things to head to the Pokemon Center for the night.


	48. Performance in Histo City!

The next morning they woke up in the Peatus City Pokemon Center and said goodbye to Logan's younger sisters, they had a boat to catch back to Olivine City in the Johto Region early in the morning. Vol, the Histo City gym leader, had offered them a ride back to her city since they were all going back together anyway. The kids slept even more in the luxury sedan on the way to the city, still being tired from yesterday and from getting up so early in the morning. 

They finally arrived to the large ocean-side city and were dropped off in front of the Pokemon Center to drop off their things. "See you around, Brooke, I look forward to your challenge." 

"I look forward to it too, Vol." 

"Catch you all at the gym." She winked and drove off. They all got settled in the pokemon center and Brooke went straight for the bed and released all her pokemon. "I'm so exhausted. Team Sapphire is really getting on my last nerve." 

"Flooat?" Sophia looked at Brooke worridly. "Yeah, Yeah, I'm okay, Sophia, don't worry. I'm just tired of dealing with them." 

"Lux? Luuxray?" Solomon jumped up on the bed beside her. "I think so, too, Solomon. It must have been Everest who dealt with those grunts before Alex and I got there. But he must be incredibly strong if he was able to beat them all by himself. Last time I saw him he had a crobat, a pangoro, and a frogidier. He wouldn't be able to do all that damage with just those three." 

"Kirrlll." Gawain grumbled and Brooke chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure you would have been able to take a lot of those grunts if they'd been awake." 

"BROOKE!" She jolted up in bed as Lukas lunged into her room, an excited look on his face. "What's up?" 

"There's a contest! Here! In Histo City! Happening tonight!" 

"Really? Are you going to enter?" 

"I have to! Right? I can't miss this opportunity. Usually, I'd like to be more prepared, and things might be a little trickier since Orval's evolution was so sudden and recent, but I think we should be fine! It's starting at six tonight! I'm going earlier to get ready! You and Charlie have to be there." Brooke smiled. "Will do, Logan." Still hardly able to contain his excitement, he rushed out of the room again and back into his room next door. "Well, I guess we've got our evening plans." 

"Umbre..." 

Logan was setting up his space in the dressing room, already changed into his uniform for the first talent round, and was brushing out Pyrois' fur. "Well, I should have known you'd be here." A familiar voice said as they walked up behind him. Logan smiled and stood up, seeing Miguel behind him. "Miguel. Good to see you again." 

"Good to see you too, Mi Amado." 

"How did I know you would be here too." Logan smiled. "One could call it our connection, Mi Amado." 

"Yes, one could." Logan replied coyly and turned to package up his belongings. "Logan! Gabriel! Anabelle! You're up next!" A stage hand called to the three competitors from the door. "Oh, would you look at that, Miguel, looks like I have to go." He beckoned for Pyrois, Orval, Lia, and Hades to follow him out the door along with his competition. 

They each stood behind a podium and the host stood out front. She explained that this would be a quiz round, and that the pokemon would need to climb a rock wall and retrieve a small rod and bring it back in order for the trainer to answer the question. The first to three was the winner. "Lia, I'm counting on you for this, okay?" 

"Pikaa!" She nodded excitedly. "Okay! On your marks! First question: What type of attacks are Normal type pokemon immune to?" Logan thought on the answer for a moment while Lia jumped up the rock wall and was the second to grab the rod, but raced past Gabriel's Ledyba to cross the finish line first. "Okay! Logan! What type of moves are Normal types immune to?" 

"Ghost." There was a bring dinging and Logan smiled. "That's correct!" 

"Next, which pokemon is longer? Gyarados or Dragonair?" Anabelle's Elektrike was the fastest this time, and she answered correctly with Gyarados. "Next question! There is a trio of mythical dog pokemon reported in the Johto region! What is at least one of their names? Or, what is at least one of their types?" Logan smiled, this one was easy for him. "Come on Lia!" He cheered her on, showing everyone he already knew the answer. Lia was the first one over the line and Logan grinned confidently. "Their names are Entei, Raicou, and Suicune!" 

"Wow! Great job! Next question, Which one of these four pokemon is a pure Psychic type?" The pokemon on the large screen were Lunatone, Bruxish, Gothitelle, and Natu. Logan bit his lip. Charles talked so much about psychic type pokemon, he must have mentioned them at some point during his nerdy ramblings. The lights on his podium lit up and he realized Lia was back already. "What's the answer, Logan?" There was a moment of silence that seemed to last an eternity before he said, "Gothitelle." His podium beeped happily again and the crowd cheered. "There's our winner for the first talent round, everyone! Be sure to cheer for Logan's performance in the next round!" 

He was taken backstage and he let out a sigh of relief as he sat back at his mirror. "Great job, Lia, you were great." He rubbed her between the ears. "Pikaa!" 

"I guess Charlie's nerdy-ness can come in handy sometimes." He chuckled as he started to get prepared for the performance round, changing into his usual flashy contest attire. 

"Are you ready for me to win this time, Logan?" 

"I'm ready for me to win." Logan countered and smirked slightly. "I don't think so. My team and I have been practicing constantly since the last time we went head to head." 

"So have we, Miguel, so have we." 

"Then I can't wait to see your thrilling performance. You always seem to leave me wanting more from you, Mi Amado." Miguel smiled flirtatiously. "Logan! You're on stand by!" 

"Well then, be left, Miguel. My team and I have to go." Logan and his team brushed past their rival, and Logan had to choke down the blush on his cheeks. 

Logan stood on the platform and his hands were shaking. "Laaiiii." Orval looked up at him, although his eyes were different, they didn't lose their supportive brightness. "You're right, Orval. We've trained for this, we're ready." 

The platform began raising and Logan, Orval, Pyrois, Lia, and Hades took their stances and soon, they were on the stage. Logan took one last deep breath as the crowd hushed. The song began playing. They stood and took powerful stances "Flame Wheel, Pyrois!" Right away, rings of fire surrounded them as they began dancing to the upbeat music. "Bonemerang, Hades!" Hades' lit boomerang spun out of the fire and spun above the audience before returning to him. "Now, protect, Orval!" A blue shield went up around them, "Discharge, Lia!" She climbed up his shoulders and jumped high above them, shooting her electric volts through a hold in Orval's protect and they danced under the protection as the electricity mingled with the flames on the outside. The crowd cheered as the bright energies together made a dazzling light, and irrupted in a glittering explosion. They were finally finished, and took the platform off stage again to the dressing rooms. 

He passed Miguel in the hall. "A dazzling performance as always, Mi Amado." 

"Break a leg out there, remember, I need a real fight from my rival." 

"No worries, my team and I are ready to win this time." 

Logan sat on a couch and dabbed his forehead of sweat as soon as he got back to the dressing rooms. Miguel's performance had already started and he was showing off dazzling moves and tricks with his team. He really wasn't joking, he and his team really had come a long way since their last performance. 

Logan was back on the stage after all the free style performances had ended. His hands were balled into fists and he was trying to hide the fact that he was incredibly nervous. "How about another round of applause for our talented performers?" The host spoke into the mic as the audience burst into cheers again, he could practically hear Brooke's enthusiastic yelling from there. "Now, for the final round of judging by you, our audience! Using the devices at your seats, please use your one vote for the one you thought gave the best performance! Ready...Set...Vote!" Colored orbs filled the arena as they chose their performers. He noticed the majority of the colors were red, Miguel's color. He looked to his rival and saw the confidence in Miguel's deep green eyes. Soon, the stadium was darkened again as the audience finished voting. "We have our winner, everyone!" The lights all went out, and several spotlights searched the stadium. "And the winner of the Histo City pokemon spectacular contest is..." 

"Miguel Santiago and his partner, Alba!" The spotlights landed on the boy next to Logan and everyone cheered. Miguel's eyes lit up brightly and he hugged his partner, bowing for the audience. The lights came up and the performers and audience began to disperse. "Congratulations, Miguel. You were right, you were ready this time." Logan smiled up at him. "Thank you, Mi Amado. Say, why don't I take you to a special dinner to celebrate, and help you feel better? I remember how much you hate to lose." Miguel certainly did know Logan well, he'd give him that. Although he was happy for his childhood friend, he couldn't help the pain in his chest at losing. "We'll see." 

"I'll keep my hopes up. Who knows, it does seem to be a lucky day for me." 

Logan walked out of the performance hall, back in his usual clothes and saw Brooke and Charlie there waiting for him. "Hey, Logan." 

"Sorry you didn't win this time."

"Hey guys! No worries, I'll win next time, for sure." 

"Brooke found a pizzaria a few blocks from here, want a pick-me-up?" Charles asked. "Nah, you two go ahead. Miguel invited me to dinner." 

"Ooo~ is it a date?" Brooke raised an eyebrow and smirked, teasingly. "Who knows. We'll see what happens." Logan replied playfully and the three of them headed back to the Pokemon Center.


	49. Vol

Brooke woke bright and early the next day, ready to receive her sixth gym badge against Vol. Along with Charlie and Logan, she approached the gym which looked like a large, modern concert hall on the outside. "Are you sure you're ready, Brooke? How much training did you do?" Charles asked. "Enough. You're such a worry wart, Charlie." 

"I'm just trying to help, Brooke. Gym battles are no place to mess around." 

"I know, I know, I've done almost six of these now, and I'm ready. I've got this." She pushed the doors open. It was pitch black inside, so dark that Brooke couldn't see her own hand in front of her face. Suddenly, one by one, lights lit up in a runway straight in front of her, and all at once all the flights flashed on to reveal a fashion runway, and the stands were filled with fans. "Brooke! Good to see you." They looked to the end of the runway to see Vol standing on the other end, on an elevated platform. "I knew you'd come as soon as you could." Brooke turned to her friends and nodded. "See you guys after the battle." 

"Be careful, Brooke." 

"No worries, Charles!" 

"Good luck." They both walked off to watch the battle and Brooke looked up at Vol. "I'm ready." 

"Just what I like to hear." She snapped her fingers and the catwalk began expanding until it was the width of a battlefield. Brooke on one end, and Vol on the other. "What do you say we cut to the chase?" 

"I'd like nothing more." Brooke smirked and the ref stood on the sidelines. "This will be a four-on-four battle! The match will be over when one side is out of able pokemon! Now, Vol will release her first pokemon." 

"Let's light up the show, Tropius!" Vol threw out a luxury ball and released a Tropius. "Okay! Let's go, Oshima!" 

"Battle, begin!" 

"Defense curl, Oshima! Then use Flame Charge!" Oshima enveloped himself in flames and raced around the field. "Air slash! Let's go, Tropius!" As Oshima made his way to Tropius, a few attacks grazed him, but he kept pushing through. He jumped over and slammed right into Tropius. "Leaf tornado, Tropius! Thousands of tiny, razor sharp leaves spun around the field and continuously attacked Oshima. Although it was not very effective, the repetitive hits were working. "Now, stomp!" Tropius came down on Oshima with heavy attacks. "Smokescreen, Oshima! Cloud yourself!" A thick cloud of smoke filled the arena, and Topius' accuracy fell. He scanned, and attacked in random places, but he couldn't pin down where Oshima was hiding in the smoke. "Flame charge from in the smoke!" Oshima darted out and jumped into Tropius, damaging them greatly, then retreating back. "Whirlwind to get rid of the smoke, Tropius!" It flapped its large, palm-like wings and the smoke cleared from the field, but once it was clear, Tropius had no time to react before Oshima used flame charge again, and that was it for Tropius, and with a great crash, they fell to the ground. 

"Very clever, Brooklyn. Let's see how you do against my next pokemon. Come on out, Togekiss!" 

"Oshima! Come back!" Brooke returned her Typhlosion and she looked down at her partner. "You ready?" 

"Umbre!"

"Then let's go! Lukas!" He jumped from his place beside Brooke and stood ready in the field. "Lukas! Use toxic!" poisonous darts shot from Lukas and Togekiss became poisoned. "Great job! Now, iron tail!" 

"Air slash, Togekiss!" Lukas was sent back from the attack, but landed on his feet. Togekiss took some damage from the poison status effect. "Again, Lukas!" He jumped back and forth to evade Togekiss' attacks, and slammed his tail into Togekiss, sending them back. "Moon-light, Lukas!" He healed himself a bit. "Fairy wind!" A pink, bristling wind swept through, and was super effective against Lukas. "Hang in there, buddy! Use Iron tail again!" 

"Magical leaf!" 

"Iron tail, one last time!" 

"Aura sphere!" 

"Gah--" That was a surprise. Brooke didn't realize it could learn that move. And there was no avoiding it. Both the moves hit each other at the same time, and they both fell, fainted. Vol returned her Togekiss and Brooke rushed onto the field, scooping up her partner in her arms and placing him beside her on the challengers' stand. "Next up! Let's see how you do against my partner, Brooklyn! Here we go, Nimbus!" Vol released an altaria. "Okay." Brooke thought for a moment. "You're up, big guy! Let's go, Cooper!" She threw out the pokemon and released her Shelgon. This was a smart move for type advantage, but that also meant that Vol's altaria was super effective against Cooper as well. 

"Dragon claw, Cooper!" 

"Cotton guard, Nimbus!" The move was deflected by a thick wall of cotton. Brooke furrowed her brow. "Dragon breath! Burn through that cotton!" A bright green beam of energy burst a wide hole in the cotton, and it all burned up and fell apart. "Dragon claw, Nimbus!" The altaria sped out from behind the cotton and slashed Cooper. "Keep your head in it, Cooper, zen headbutt! Then turn around and use Dragon Breath!" Cooper launched himself at Altaria and landed the first move, then once he landed he used his round shell to roll to the side and launch his second attack. It worked flawlessly "All right! Keep it up with Dragon Claw!" 

"Roost, Nimbus." The dragon type glowed brightly and regained some of his health back. "We've gotta keep fighting, Cooper! Let's go!" 

"Sheeel!" Brooke could feel her heart racing. As she was getting fired up she could feel Cooper's heart as her own. "Dragon Breath! Let's go!" Cooper powered up, and launched an extremely powerful beam that send Nimbus flying back. "Critical hit! Great job, buddy!" 

"Sheeeeeell!" He replied enthusiastically, yet tiredly, before falling over, fainting as well. Brooke frowned a bit. "It's okay, Cooper, come back." She returned him to his pokeball, and whispered to him,"You gave that last move of your all. I'm proud of you, big guy." 

"I have to admit, I'm impressed, Brooke. Not many trainers get past Nimbus. It's no wonder Alex and the Professor see so much promise in you. But I won't let you out-style me so easily! Let's give this our all, Gyarados!" She threw out the pokeball and the water-flying type appeared with a roar. "Okay! Time for my last pokemon, too! Come on, Solomon!" She threw out her luxray's pokeball and he landed in a battle stance. "An electric type? Why didn't you just start with him?" Vol asked from the other side of the arena. "Where's the fun in that?" Brooke replied with a slight smirk. "Let's go, Solomon! Start this off with a thunder fang!" 

"Twister, Gyarados!" Gyarados used its tail to create a tunnel of wind and threw it at Solomon, sending him flying before he could get to his opponent. "Ice fang, Solomon!" This time, he was able to get to her and Solomon chomped down on Gyarados' tail. "Aqua tail!" While Solomon was still biting down, the tail turned bright blue and covered in water. With a flick, Solomon was thrown off, but landed on his feet. "Great job, Solomon! Now, use thunder fang again!" It was a doubly super-effective hit, and Brooke could tell that Gyarados was feeling it. "Dragon rage!" 

"Swagger, Solomon!" The move confused Gyarados, and she ended up hitting herself instead of Solomon. "Come on, Gyarados! Focus on me! Use Twister!" 

"Ice fang, Solomon!" Both attacks hit their targets. "Ice fang, Gyarados!" 

"Hang in there, Solomon!" Brooke didn't command him to move, which caught Vol off guard, but before she could command her pokemon to stop, Gyarados was already using her ice fang on Solomon. He was flinching a bit, but was still going strong. "Now! Thunder!" Solomon's body generated electricity, and the ice fang made Gyarados an easy target. The shocking lasted a minute or two before it was over and Gyarados fell back at Vol's feet. "Gyarados is unable to battle! Brooke, the challenger, and her Luxray are the winners!" Brooke walked to Solomon and gently ran her hands along his thick mane. "Great job, Solomon, I'm proud of you." 

"Raaayyy." He purred and she returned him to his pokeball. Soon, her friends joined her on the field, Charles picked up a still fainted Lukas as Vol approached them. "Wonderful job, Brooke. You trust your instincts, that's what I really admire in a trainer." 

"Thank you, Vol. You almost had me a couple times. I can tell you and Nimbus have known each other for a long time." Vol smiled as the ref handed her a reflective blue box. "You're very intuitive. Yes, we have. He's been my partner for forever." Vol turned to Brooke and held out the box, clicking a button on the top to open it. Inside was a pale blue badge in the shape of a feathery set of wings. "This, is the wing badge. Proof that you've defeated me in an official pokemon league battle." She smiled as Brooke took the badge. "Thank you, Vol! Thank you so much!" 

"I think we're going to get along fine, Brooke." She smiled. "Where are you heading next?" 

"I'm not sure yet, actually." 

"Well, I'm headed up to Nebulosa City, why don't you join me? There is a gym leader up there." 

"Ah-I don't think that's a good idea." They all looked to Charles who seemed to have gotten incredibly nervous. "Why not?" 

"Well--That gym leader has a...reputation." 

"Reputation? For what?" 

"A lot of people say she cheats." Vol rolled her eyes a bit. "She does not cheat, that's just a rumor. I promise, there's nothing unfair about it. Besides, I'll take you all in my plane." 

"Come on, Charles, a free ride to Nebulosa Town! This'll be fun!"


	50. I Know You

Vol dropped them off at a small airport near Nebulosa Town and left for Ebeno Town to prepare for some big event going on there. The trainers stopped for dinner on a hilltop just outside the city, overlooking a beautiful riverbed. "So, you're from Nebulosa Town?" Logan asked Charles as he handed out lunch. Charlie nodded. "And I am not looking forward to going back." 

"Why not?" 

"Well, I... haven't told my parents I dropped out." 

"Still!?"

"Charlie, you know you have to tell them." 

"I know! I know. But... As soon as I tell them, I know they're going to tell me to come home and enroll again immediately." Brooke raised an eyebrow. "They would? Even this far into your journey? Don't they know you hated that school?" Brooke asked, and Charlie was silent for a moment. "Well, every now and then I expressed that I didn't like it... But they're very... Stubborn. They have a whole plan for me that I don't really want. That's why I've never really figured anything out on this journey, because I've never had the chance to explorer anything I'd really want before." 

"Wow, Charlie... I'm sorry." Logan frowned. "It's okay, really. I just have to pretend a little longer, at least until Brooke gets her eighth gym badge. And pray that no one recognizes me while we're here so I don't have to see my parents." Suddenly, there was a large commotion where the pokemon were playing down by the river. The trainers looked over to see a bright light, and it took them a moment to realize that Cooper was evolving. "Cooper's evolving!?" 

"Out of nowhere!? How!?" Charles exclaimed as they shot up and made their way down the hill. Cooper's changing stopped, and he was suddenly a large salamence. But Brooke took one look at him and stopped in her tracks. Cooper was looking himself over, and frantically looking at himself in the reflection of the river. "Brooke? Is something wrong?" Charlie asked. He and Logan were staring at her, confused as to why she stopped. 

"Everyone get away from him!" She commanded, and the other pokemon were confused, but they followed her order. "Something's wrong..." She explained, softer, noticing how wide and un-focused Cooper's eyes were. "Cooper?" Brooke took a cautious step forwards, and his head snapped in her direction. They barely ducked in time when Cooper launched a Dragon Breath in their direction. "Cooper!?" He lifted off into the air and began to fly away. "What's going on!? Why is he acting like this!?" Logan yelled as they watched him fly off, rather erratically, towards Nebulosa Town. "He could be going on a rampage!" 

"A rampage!? And he's heading towards a populated city!? We have to return all these pokemon except for Mulligan and Axel. We need to get over there as fast as possible! Logan, you call Officer Jenny and warn her that he's coming!" 

After all that was done, Brooke climbed on Axel with Charles and they lifted off towards the city, flying as fast as their wings could take them to the city. They landed on the outskirts and were met with two police officers. "Are you the ones who called us about that crazy Salamence?" 

"Yes! Is he okay?" 

"Is he okay? I would worry more about the buildings he's caused damage to. What happened to make it act like that!?" 

"I... I don't know. I have to see him, where is he?" 

"In the Town Square. We got him held up on the bell tower." 

"I know where that is, follow me!" Charles ran ahead and the trainers followed him through the vacant streets. They arrived in the square where a huge crowd of people were being held back in a large circle around the bell tower. From the ground they could see attacks coming from a figure at the top of the tower, and a police helicopter evading them. "Oh my..." Brooke gasped before pushing her way through the crowd to get to the front. Brooke looked around and saw an officer standing a few feet away from her. "Excuse me! Officer!" 

"Yes?" 

"That's my Salamence up there, please, you have to let me up there so I can talk to him! He's scared!" Charles and Logan stared at her, agape. "You can't be serious! You want to go up there!?" 

"Are you insane!?" 

"Sorry, I can't let anyone up there, it's too dangerous. Better leave this up to the professionals." The Officer dismissed her. Brooke's hands tightened around the barricade. Her mind was going a mile a minute. She needed a way up there, and she was becoming more frustrated by the minute. Finally, an idea came to mind. She looked down at her partner and made a nod towards the square. He understood right away and reared up. Without a moment's hesitation he bolted out into the square, and drew the police officers away from them. While they were distracted she hopped the fence and made a mad dash for the bell tower doors. She reached into her belt and threw out a pokeball and within seconds Sophia was running in step with her. With the blood pumping in her ears they shut the door to the bell tower behind them and Sophia used Ice Punch to seal the door shut. "Great job, girl." Brooke panted. "Float!" Brooke looked ahead and saw the long, long, long staircase leading to the top, and dread fell in her stomach. "This is what you train for. For Cooper." She took a deep breath, and started racing up the stairs. 

She finally reached the top and took a few moments to catch her breath and throw off her jacket before pushing on the heavy doors to the balcony. A burst of cold air almost sent her back, but also refreshed her sweaty body. From up there she could see the crowd gathered below and the sun almost gone behind the horizon. Spotlights were shining up at them, and Brooke noticed there was no railing, and a very long drop down. 

She looked to her left and saw Cooper there, glaring at her, his voice bordering on a growl. "Cooper. Come on, just relax." She had to duck to avoid a dragon claw. "Come on, big guy, let's go back down to the ground." He lunged at her and landed a crunch attack on her leg, making her fall down on her back. "AAAH!" She hissed in pain as Cooper turned his attention back to the helicopter that was getting too close for his liking. 

Brooke struggled to breathe, and there was a ringing in her ears that deafened everything else around her. Through her dizziness, she struggled to look up at him and recalled when he first hatched out of his egg. He was so eager for the world and easily excited. Now, she could see the fear in his eyes wherever he looked. Slowly, she stood back up and clutched her sore arm. He looked over at her and prepared a Dragon Breath in his mouth. "Cooper, it's me, Brooke. Your friend." She began in a soft tone. The dragon breath grew more in his mouth, but she continued stepping forward. "You're just frightened. You evolved so suddenly and it scared you." He was ready to launch the attack, and Brooke was close enough to feel the heat generating from his mouth. Despite the pain, and the tears on her face, she smiled. "Cooper, you are much stronger now. Look at yourself. You can finally fly. This is what you've always wanted." She was right in front of him now. "I've known you since you hatched from your egg, I was the first face you saw. Remember?" The attack in his mouth started to fade and his muscles relaxed ever so slightly. His eyes were struggling to become focused. "There's my boy, come back to me." She reached out and held his scaly face in her hands. "Come on, Cooper. Come back to mama. You're okay." The flames in his mouth vanished and his muscles relaxed entirely. He blinked and the sparkle in his eyes returned. Brooke smiled more and a tear fell down her face. "There he is." She stroked his face a bit and he looked at her sadly, the guilt evident in her eyes. "You're okay now." Brooke leaned forward and hugged him around his neck. "Saaalll..." He wrapped his neck around her, reciprocating the hug. 

She climbed onto his back and pat him. "Let's go back down, big guy." 

"Saalll." Gently, he lifted off and landed back on the ground, and the crowd cheered for them. As soon as they landed, Charlie, Logan, and Lukas raced towards her and hugged her. "Brooke! We were so worried about you! Don't you ever do that again!" Logan strained as he tightened his grip around her. "Ow! Ow! Guys, you're crushing me, I have, like, a million bruises." Quickly, they let go of her and she groaned. "Someone go get Sophia from the bell tower. She froze the door shut." Charles nodded and rushed off. "Are you okay?" Logan asked. "What?" 

"I asked where it hurts." 

"Oh, uh, everywhere." 

"Okay, as soon as Charles comes back we're getting you to the Pokemon Center to be looked over." Brooke nodded slowly and sat on Cooper's back, her head throbbing. She ran a hand along Cooper's back as the crowd dispersed. "Hey! What did you think you were doing!? That was incredibly dangerous!" Officer Jenny reprimanded her as she stormed over. "Sorry, Officer Jenny. I knew I could calm Cooper down." Brooke replied, exhausted. Then, from behind Officer Jenny, a reporter and a camera man rushed over. "Hello! I'm Janette from Nebulosa Town 7 News. Can I interview you quickly?" 

"Ah--sure." 

"Great! So, what was your name, young lady?" 

"Brooke." 

"Brooke! What compelled you to go up there?" She asked, holding the microphone in Brooke's face. "Well, I'm this Salamence's trainer. His name is Cooper. I knew he was frightened, and confused, so I went up there to help him." 

"What happened to Cooper to make him act out like that?" 

"Well, I was eating dinner outside of town with my friends, and he evolved out of nowhere. Something like that can confuse and scare a pokemon, especially if they weren't expecting it, themselves." 

"You certainly sound like you know a lot about pokemon!" 

"Sure. My dad taught me everything I know about Pokemon training. And I've raised Cooper here from an egg, so I know him pretty well." 

"What was going through your head when you were up there?" 

"Nothing, really."

"Nothing?" 

"Yeah, nothing. When you're in a situation like that, when the safety of your pokemon is at risk, you don't really have the time. All you have to do is trust your instincts, because you know you and your team are on the same page. Right, buddy? And we're on the same page again." Brooke turned and smiled at Cooper and he smiled back at her. "Saaaal! Sallamance!" 

"Wow! Thrilling stuff! That was today's hero, Brooke, on how she was able to calm the rampaging Salamence!" The camera went dark, and they were off the air. Right as that happened, Officer Jenny was about ready to tear her a new one, but Charles and Sophia came back. "Sorry, Officer! We have to get Brooke to a doctor right away. Thank you!" The trainers all rushed off before Jenny could stop them. 

It was midnight and Brooke was sitting in a hospital room with her friends, and finally getting her test results back from Nurse Joy. "Well, you have a mild concussion, and some bruising along your back and leg." 

"A concussion? How long will it take to heal up?" 

"Hard to say, could be as little as ten days." 

"Ten days!? I don't have that long. I need to get my seventh gym badge as soon as possible." 

"Against Tamsa? Most certainly not. No battling at all until your symptoms die down." 

"But Nurse Joy--" 

"I'm sorry, Brooklyn, but you can't. Physical and mental exertion like that will only make it worse. I recommend lots of rest and relaxing with non-strenuous activity." Nurse Joy collected her things and walked out. "Well, I guess we're staying here for a while." 

"This sucks." It was quiet a moment. "What is with this Tamsa person? Why does everyone get all weird when I tell them I'm going to battle her?" They looked to Charlie. "She's one of the few dark-type specialists to become a gym leader. And her methods are...unethical." 

"Unethical? But I thought Vol said she didn't cheat?" 

"Granted, she doesn't. But she's a different kind of gym leader. I watched one of her battles, once. I went with an academy friend when he went to challenge her. He lost, and it wasn't pretty. She's brutal with her attacks, and she openly taunts you during a battle." 

"Taunts you? The league allows that?" 

"I guess so." Charles shrugged. "Only the most daring trainers dare to challenge her. She's like nothing you've ever seen before." 

"Well, it's a good thing I'm daring." 

"Brooklyn." Charles said, sternly. "I really don't think this is a good idea for you. There are other gym leaders we can go to."

"We're already here, Charles, and we don't have much time before the Maroh League starts, and I'll have to wait a whole other year before I can enter again. Tamsa is our only option." Charles sighed. "Logan and I should be getting to sleep. We'll see you in the morning, Brooklyn." 

"Okay... Goodnight, guys."


	51. The Parents

Charlie paced in his Pokemon Center hotel room. After about two weeks, Brooke was finally being released from Nurse Joy's care after her symptoms had gone down, and they were headed to the gym today for her battle, and Charles was less than thrilled. What if he ran into his parents? How he could he tell them that he'd discontinued his studies? What if he ran into a teacher or fellow students?

"Are you really that nervous to be in the same city as your parents?" Logan's voice startled him from the doorway. "Am I that obvious?" He sighed and slumped down on the bed, covering his face in his hands.

"Come on, they can't be that bad."

"You have a healthy relationship with your family, I can't expect you to understand." Charles looked up at him. "This is a small town and my family is very rich and well known. I have a lot of pressure on me. They breathe down my neck every minute I'm alive! I can't escape them!" His voice became quicker the more nervous he became. "Goodness, man, you need to get a grip. Maybe if you face your parents you'll be able to--"

"Absolutely not! There's no way my parents can know I'm here! But what if I'm out and a friend of my parents' sees me and tells them I'm here and then they come to the Pokemon Center to come find me, and then find out I haven't been keeping up with my studies and force me to go back to that school! I can't do it, Logan."

"You are the king of stress." Logan grabbed his jacket "Anyway, we're on our way to the gym, Brooke says she's ready to challenge her." When Charlie didn't get up Logan grabbed him by the arm "Come on, lover-boy, I know you're not gonna miss Brooklyn's challenge." With a grumble and a small blush he stood up and left with Logan. "For the record, I still don't think this is a good idea." 

"You know Brooke, Charles, you know she's not going to listen." 

As they walked along the street, Charlie kept taking glances over his shoulder and hiding in the middle of his friends. "Wow, you're kinda a wreck around here, aren't you, Charlie?" Brooke looked over at him with curious blue eyes. "I'm sorry, Brooke, I'll be sure to be more attentive during your battle, but I just can't have anyone recognizing me and telling my parents that I'm here."

"I just don't understand you sometimes, Charlie." She shook her head. "You both have healthy relationships with your parents, I don't."

"Charles!?" Someone called out as they passed them, the three trainers stopped and looked over at a small curvy woman. "Oh boy..."

"Master Charles! I cannot believe it's you! You're in town!"

"Hello, Isabelle."

"I am on my way to your house right now! They're going to be thrilled that you're home!"

"Um, Isabelle, if you could maybe--"

"We'll have a wonderful dinner! And your friends here can join us too! We'll have your rooms set up so you can stay there!"

"Well, we actually already have rooms at the--"

"Oh, just imagine the looks on their faces when they see their son again! We'll have the place ready for you at around four o' clock! Be sure not to be late!" She started skipping off. "Isabelle! Wait!" Charlie tried to call out to her, but she had already hopped out of hearing.

"Oh boy."

"Well I guess we're going over to your parent's place tonight."

"Great." Charlie sighed and covered his face with his hands. "Well I guess I'll have my gym battle and then we'll go straight to Charles' place."

"What!?" His face shot up with a look of horror and the other two looked at him confused. "What's the problem?"

"If we have to go see my parents, we are not going directly after the gym battle!"

"Then what do you suggest?" She placed her hands on her hips. "I'm sorry, Brooke, but your battle will have to wait until tomorrow now."

"What!? But Charles, I've waited two weeks for this!" 

"I'm sorry! But my parents are very up-scale people and no offense to either of you, but they won't like that I'm going around with ruggish people!"

"How am I not supposed to take offense from that?" Logan crossed his arms. "I'm sorry, but they simply wouldn't allow it. That'd be another gash on an already bleeding body. We have to get you both more fancy clothes as soon as possible."

"Well I don't have anything in my bag."

"I'll pay for your shopping, and will confirm if what you buy is suitable for my parents."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Come on, I know what shops to go to." He led them through the shopping district, where many people recognized him and had mostly one-sided conversations with him while Logan helped Brooke find a dress Charlie would approve of.

Finally four o' clock came around and Charlie was giving some last notes to Logan and Brooke about how to act around his parents. Brooke was wearing a white summer dress with corked short heels and Logan was in a navy dress shirt with white criss-crossed stripes and cuffed sleeves with black pants, and Charlie was wearing a dark green dress shirt with black pants as well. "Geez, Charlie, what do you think, we grew up in barns?"

"I'm sorry guys, but if my parents see that I've been on my journey with people they wouldn't like they may not let me continue. Believe me, I wish I didn't have to do this." They reached the golden front gates to the drive way where a golf cart and a driver were waiting for them. "Master Charles! It's good to see you, you and your friends hop on."

"Thanks, Vincent." They piled on the golf cart as it headed up the trimmed driveway with beautiful flower trees with wild cherrim playing in them. "Wow Charlie, if this is your driveway, I can't wait to see your house." Brooke gazed around in awe "That's Charles." He reminded her in a low tone.

Then the house came into view, although it was more of a mansion or a small palace. "Whooaaaaaa..." Logan and Brooke went in unison at the gaze of it. It had bright colorful gardens out front, the building was large and made of light stone with windows and classic molding all over it. From what they could see in the back there was a green house and a lavish garden maze. There were wild pokemon frolicking around all over the place and workers who Brooke and Logan assumed worked for Charlie's parents tending the gardens and cleaning the windows. "How many people work for your parents?" Logan asked and Charles thought for a moment. "Let's see, a few cooks, butlers and maids, and gardeners, and people to tend to the wild pokemon. Maybe a half dozen?"

"Six people? Geez Charles! I know you're loaded, but I didn't know you were this rich!" He didn't reply, and got out of the golf cart once it stopped in front of the doorsteps. Charlie sighed deeply and nodded to Vincent, who opened the large front doors for them.

The foyer had two staircases leading down, with hallways on either side. Everything was decorated ornately and Brooke and Logan couldn't help but oogle at everything. "Charles! You've arrived! Henry look, Charles is here!" They looked over to the left staircase to see a woman with dirty blonde, short wavy hair that was starting to gray rushing down the steps, trying not to trip in her black heels or her tight gray cloth dress held to her by a thick black belt. She had hazel eyes that looked identical to Charlie's. She rushed up to her son and wrapped him in a quick hug. "Hello Mother, it's good to see you again."

"Oh my sweet Charles, I've missed you so much."

"There's my boy!" A man exclaimed as he walked down the stairs. He had tan skin and dark brown eyes, with neat short salt and pepper hair. He wore a white dress shirt under a navy blue suit and a pair of thin glasses on his rigid face. Brooke had to glance back at Charlie because he looked exactly like her friend with a time machine.

When he finally reached them he shook his son's hand eagerly and Brooke could tell from right beside him that Charles was shaking, but his parents didn't seem to detect his nervousness. "Ma, Pa, these are my friends I've told you about. This is Brooklyn Areca, and her partner Lukas, then Logan Parker." Charlie introduced them. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Charles has told us so much about you both, and your other friend...what was his name? The one who left?"

"Jordan O'Connor, ma'am. He's currently at the Pokemon Ranger academy in Nyanja Town." Brooke answered. "Ahh, that's right. Thank you, Brooklyn. You both may just call us Janette and Henry."

"Charles has told us a lot about you as well, Janette. It's nice to put faces to the names."

"Say, would you like a tour of the house?"

"That'd be lovely"" Logan answered eagerly, making the parents chuckle. "Right this way." They led them up the stairs and through the halls of the mansion. "You know, this place reminds me of the Parfum Palace in the Kalos Region!" Logan exclaimed, "Oh, you've been to Kalos?" Janette asked. "Once, when I was thirteen. My mother took my little sisters and me on a vacation to Lumiose City and we saw the palace while we were there."

"Oh lovely! I hear you're from the Johto Region?"

"Yes, I'm from Ecruteak City."

"How quaint!" She replied with a smile and Logan raised an eyebrow and exchanged a glace with Brooke. "And Brooklyn, where are you from?"

"Unova. Castelia City."

"I see."

"What does your family do, Brooklyn?" Henry chimed in and Brooke felt herself get nervous, Logan and Charlie still didn't know her father is a gym leader. "My Father is a – uh - powerful pokemon trainer and my older brother has gotten a job working with Professor Pine in his lab."

"And what are you doing here in Maroh?"

"Um, my father got a job in Playa Town so we sold our place in Castelia and came here."

"And what of your mother?" Janette asked and Brooke looked away, out the window to the gardens. "She uh- passed away some years ago."

"Oh how horrid! I'm so sorry."

"Okay Ma, we can stop interrogating them now."

"Well Charles, if there's any potential of you and this girl--" 

"Why don't we show them to their bedrooms!" Charles cut her off hurridly once he saw where that sentence was headed, making Logan stifle a snicker. Charlie left the room blushing and Brooke apparently didn't pick up on the atmosphere.

A maid showed Brooke to her room, which was decorated in pinks and golds with a large king bed with lightly transparent curtains around it and a view of the gardens in the back of the house. "Wow, this place is incredible, right Lukas?"

"Umbreee..." He replied, getting comfortable on the bed. "Is it that nice?"

"Ummmmmmbreeeonnnnn..." He had a content smile on his face so Brooke lay down as well and almost melted into the soft silky sheets. "Wow."

"It's hard to find what Charles was so worried about, they may be a bit posh but they're very nice people."

"Bre..?"

"Yeah, maybe they're different when there aren't people around. I guess we'll find out more during dinner."

Dinner was finally being served and all five of them-including Lukas-were sitting at the ornate dinner table eating their decadent meals. "So Charles, how has your journey been, have you enjoyed yourself?"

"Oh yes! I've learned so much. I've seen almost the whole region and soon it'll be over since Brooklyn only has two more gym challenges until she is able to get to the league."

"Speaking of learning, how have your studies been?" His father asked, making him pause and Brooke and Logan shared a glance. "It's been going well." He answered quickly and continued eating. "Is something wrong, dear?" Janette asked and he shook his head quickly. Seeing he was in trouble Brooke jumped in. "Charles has been very studious over the course of our travels, learning everything possible about psychic types. He's even done some training with my Kirlia to--" 

"That's enough, Brooke." Charlie cut her off, frowning at her. "I can't ask you to lie for me."

"Lie?" Henry repeated and looked over at his son. "The truth is, I stopped studying shortly after I left for my journey."

"I see." Henry folded his hands in front of him, while Janette looked obviously upset. "I couldn't stand the thought of that academy, I never wanted to be there. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't bring myself to betray my ideals and study while there were so many other things to focus on during the journey." 

"How could you, Charles? Do you know how much money we had to pay for that academy? Can you imagine what the other families will say when they find out you've dropped out of that academy?"

"I knew we shouldn't have let you go on this journey in the first place, I knew you'd leave your studies in the wind."

"Ma, Pa, I'm sorry, I just couldn't--"

"I don't want to hear it, young man. You go to your room and think about how much you keeping up with your studies means to us."

"But I--"

"Do as your mother says, Charles. I can see that this journey has been nothing but trouble for you. You will not be allowed to continue and must return to the academy as soon as you get your head back in your studies." Logan and Brooke exchanged a frightened look, then watched as Charles stood up quietly "Of course." He mumbled and left the room, not looking at either of his friends.

"I'm sorry you both had to witness that, but as his parents we must do what is best for him." Janette apologized, assuming the children automatically understood. "Logan, why don't you go make sure he's okay." Brooke whispered to him and he nodded, leaving the room and asking a butler to help him find Charlie.

"I can't believe what's gotten into that boy. He's forgotten to uphold our family image." Henry shook his head and Brooke clenched her fists together. "He'll be much better off at that academy."

"Better off!?" Brooke couldn't hold it in anymore and stood quickly. "Umbree." Lukas tried to warn her quietly. "How could you say he's better off!? How could you be more worried about him "ruining your image" than his happiness! I've heard him talk about that school - he was miserable!"

"How dare you speak to us like that, young lady!"

"How could I? How could you! This journey has been just what he needed to be more assertive and now you're taking that away from him! First you take away his partner pokemon, Ophelia - who has become a powerful and beautiful Dragonair - and tell him to study psychic types, and psychic types only! You are more worried about protecting yourself than protecting your son who's had to live in your shadow and bend to your every will all his life!"

"I don't know what you think you're talking about, but I will not have some child accusing me like this in my own home - guest or not! No wonder Charles has become so defiant, he's learned it from you! I should've guessed a girl from Castelia City would be no good for him." Henry turned up a nose at her. "I'll have you know that my father is a very powerful gym leader, who has taught me everything I know. And if I know nothing else, I know how to stand up for those I care about! Charlie is one of my best friends, and I won't stand for anyone disrespecting him, not even his parents."

"You're one to talk about disrespect."

"Fine! If you won't be persuaded with words, how about a language you will understand?" She reached into her purse and pulled out one of her pokeballs. "Pardon me?"

"Come on, Henry, Charlie told me about what a powerful trainer you used to be. Why don't you prove it? If I win, you let Charlie continue on his journey and you stop harassing him about his studies." She challenged with a dangerous look in her eyes. He narrowed his eyes at her and called over a butler, who gave him six pokeballs. "Very well. But if you lose, you and Logan leave peacefully and leave Nebulosa town and Charlie behind, after your gym battle here of course."

"I won't lose."

The two were led to a battlefield off the side of the house and stared each other down while a butler read off the rules. "This will be a full six-on-six battle, the victor will be determined when one side is all out of able pokemon, substitutions are allowed. Both sides must abide by the previously set rules once the battle is over. If Miss Areca wins, then Master Charles gets to go on his journey without his parents reprimanding him, if Master Henry wins his son must stay and return to his studies. Are both sides agreed?"

"Agreed."

"I agree."

"Then hold out the pokemon you wish to use first." Brooke thought carefully for a moment before grabbing a pokeball out of her bag. "Now release that pokemon." He threw out his pokeball and released an alolan persian. "Liepard huh?" 

"Go Gawain!" She threw the pokeball and her Kirlia stood ready for battle. "My Liepard won't be put down so easily!"

"Battle begin!"

"Gawain! Use calm mind!"

"Well, if that's how things are starting then Liepard, use Taunt!"

"Alright, don't let that get you down! We know how to work around it!"

"Kirl! Kirlla!!"

"Magical Leaf!" He leaped forward and launched an attack at Liepard. "Liepard, use Toxic!" Gawain became poisoned "Gawain! You've gotta fight it! Keep moving around and go in for magical leaf again!"

"Pursuit!"

It didn't take long, but soon both Persian and Gawain were fainted. "Good job, Gawain." Brooklyn whispered to her pokeball as Henry's alolan Persian stood proudly, then looked down at Lukas. "Ready boy?"

"Um!" He nodded and jumped out into the field. She could tell from his lowered stance that he was ready to win this. "All right! Let's do it! Use Toxic!" Persian was poisoned "Persian! Foul play!"

"Bite!"

"Get back up there, Persian and use fury swipes!"

"Hang on, Lukas! Use Moonlight! Then Iron Tail!"

"Persian! Fury swipes again!" But by that time, Persian had fainted again from the Toxic wearing it down. Henry thought carefully for a moment before releasing his next pokemon. "Roserade! I choose you!"

"Lukas us--"

"Roserade! Toxic!" Lukas became badly poisoned and was visibly sweating. "Lukas no! Ugh. Use Bite!" Lukas lunged at Roserade and bit down hard. 

Meanwhile Charles was sitting on his bed, just staring at the ceiling while Logan tried to console him. "I can't believe I'm going to have to go back to that school. I never should have come to this city."

"I'm sorry, Charlie. This isn't fair."

"No, but when have my parents ever been worried about "fair"." He sighed and sat up. "All my life, I've done what they wanted! I have my first taste of freedom, then it's gone. Then Brooke's gone."

"Come on, now. Just because you have to stay here doesn't mean Brooke and I won't talk to you anymore. Besides, her journey is almost over anyway."

"I can't go through this again, Logan..."

"RAAAAAADE!" They both looked over to the window when they heard a pokemon calling out outside. "What is going on...?" Logan walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. "Charlie, you'd better come see this." He stood and rushed over, but his stomach caught in his throat when he saw Brooke having a battle with his father. "What is she doing!?" He called for the butler outside, who told him how this battle happened, and instantly Charlie turned and raced out the door with Logan hot on his heels. The boys raced outside and headed directly to the battlefield "STOOOOOOOPP!" The two trainers immediately stopped and looked over, "Charlie!?"

"Charles!"

Charlie reached the middle of the battlefield, panting. "Stop this battle right now! This is over!"

"Charles, what are you doing out here?"

"What do you two think you're doing, fighting over whether or not I get to go on my journey!"

"Charlie, I was only trying to--"

"Please, Brooke. I know you're trying to help me, but I can fight my own battles. I'm not the same helpless trainer you met in Maskros Town those months ago. And I told you how strong my father is, you don't have to push yourself and your pokemon just to help me!" He turned to his father "And you! What are you thinking taking a challenge like that? You're a grown man, and my father, you know better. I know as my parent you're trying to do what's best for our family, but please think for once about how your decisions affect me. You went on your journey too, you should know how much good this is doing for me."

"I...I'm sorry, Charlie. I know you can fight your own battles, but when your parents kept saying those things about you I couldn't help myself. I'm sorry." He smiled reassuringly at her, his hazel eyes soft and warm. "It's okay, Brooke. And I can imagine you were looking out for Lukas' happiness as well." He took a pokeball from his pocket and released April, who rushed over to Lukas and began nuzzling him, checking over his wounds to make sure he was okay. "Right, I wouldn't want our lovebirds to be separated for long." Brooke giggled. "Charles..." His mother got his attention. "We now see how much you've changed on your journey. I suppose these changes were for the better."

"Your mother and I were just upset that you lied to us about your studies. We now see how much all three of you have benefited one another." The parents exchanged a look. "You may continue on your journey if you wish." Logan and Brooke shared an excited look. "You mean it?"

"Yes. We wouldn't want our son to be miserable in that academy and without his friends."

"Why don't you all stay here for the night? I'm sure it'd be much more comfortable than a Pokemon Center." 

"Thanks, Ma." 

"And we'd like for you to tell us all about how your journey has really been. We'd like to know this new Charles." A certain smile came over Charlie's face and he nodded. "I'd like that."


	52. The Unos Academy

The next morning the trainers sat around the dining table for breakfast when Charlie's mother came in. "Charles." 

"Yes?" 

"I just got a call from Mister Seng at the Academy. He'd like for you to visit him." 

"Ma, I don't think--" 

"I know, you don't like that academy, but he would still like to see you." Charles thought for a moment, then looked over at Brooke. "Is it okay if your challenge waits another day?" 

"If it's okay with you. My concussion is more painful today." 

"Concussion!?" Charles' mother's eyebrows shot up. "It's a long story, Ma. Tell him I'll be there." 

"A-Alright. I'll go call him now to tell him you'll be on your way." 

"Are you sure you can do this, Charles? You keep telling us how horrible that academy was for you." Logan asked, worried. "I'll be okay. I'm not going as a student, but I'll be showing you both around. Despite everything I hated about it, it is a beautiful school." 

"If you say so, Charlie." A maid picked up the dishes, and Charles excused himself to use the bathroom. "Is he really going to be okay?" Logan asked Brooke once he knew Charlie would be out of earshot. Brooke thought for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah, he'll be fine. He seems different now that he's gotten that weight off his shoulders. And as long as we're there with him, everything will be fine." 

Charles led the way through town, and soon they came upon a large, clean cut piece of stone that read "UNOS ACADEMY" and had the school's crest beside it. The campus was absolutely beautiful. The buildings were all made from clean, red brick with crisp white doors, shutters, and roofs. The gardens were expertly manicured, and all the students walked around in matching school uniforms, all ranging from ages ten to nineteen. "This is where you went to school?" Logan asked, his face agape. "Yes, I joined the school when I was eleven, and studied everything to do with Psychic types ever since." 

"And what exactly did you hate about this school? It seems beautiful to me." 

"For one thing, I had no particular interest in psychic type pokemon. I wanted to study other things, and gain mastery in all of them, I felt like my potential was being severely limited here. And it was all too rigid. All anyone does here is go to class, eat, sleep, and study. There's no fun here, except when you're with pokemon." 

"Charles Madison?" They looked over to see a smiling asiatic man walking towards them. He was tall, had neat black hair and looked to be in his mid thirties. Charles smiled. "Mister Seng!" 

"Please, Charles, you're not a student here any more, you can just call me Victor." Charles shook the man's hand and turned to his friends. "These are my friends, Brooke Areca, and Logan Parker. I've been travelling with them on my journey. Guys, this is Victor Seng, he's an adviser here at the academy, and took good care of me while I was here." 

"It's a pleasure to meet you both! I'm glad Charles has been making friends away from the academy." 

"It's nice to meet you too!" 

"So, what are you doing back in town? I don't think you're here for a social visit." Victor looked to Charlie. "Brooke is doing the gym challenge, so we're here to battle Tamsa." Victor raised an eyebrow. "Right, well, good luck on that one. Tamsa is the toughest gym leader I've ever seen." 

"I'm not worried. With my team with me, I'll be just fine." Brooke smiled. "Well, you've certainly got spirit." Victor looked back down at Charlie. "Say, Charles, I think there are some old friends who wan to see you in the greenhouse." 

"In the... They're still there?" Charles smiled, a sparkle in his eye. "Right this way, everyone." 

"What's in the greenhouse?" Logan asked as Victor led the way. "Well, once you get your results of the test back, that determines what type you study during your time here. And when that happens, you get your academy partner. So, for example, since I got psychic types, the academy gave me a psychic type pokemon that had recently hatched to train with while I was here." Charles explained as a large greenhouse came into view as the rounded a corner. "And all the partner pokemon are kept in this greenhouse on the campus when they're not being used, so for instance after a student graduates, or transfers." 

"Or drops out." Logan added, pointedly. "Yes. Or drops out." Victor scanned a key card and the greenhouse door clicked open. They stepped inside and looked around. "Wow! This is almost like a smaller version of the sanctuary that Professor Pine runs." Brooke smiled as she looked around at the lush greenery, a symphony of pokemon calls mingling with the trees and brush. Brooke looked over at Charlie and saw the bright look in his eyes, and the smile over his face. It was nice to see him smiling so easily. 

"This is where I'd go when I was stressed about classes. Being with the nature and the pokemon always made me feel better. And I know just where my partner will be at this time." Charles starting walking into the brush, and his friends followed him. Through all the leaves, they could see flashes of different pokemon of every type. "Wow, this place is so diverse!" 

"Well, they need a pokemon of every type here, since students can have any known pokemon type." Charles pulled back some leaves to see a girafarig sitting by a pond. "Gilly?" The pokemon looked over, and instantly, its face lit up, and it scrambled over to them, practically tackling Charles. "Gilly! It's so good to see you." He sat in the grass and looked up at his two friends. "This here is Gilly, he was the partner the academy gave me. Gilly, these are my friends I've been travelling with." 

"Riiig!" He smiled up at Brooke and Logan, then yelled out into the forest, and almost immediately, a musharna and a metang came out of the leaves and rushed over to Charles. "You're all here!" 

"Are these more of your pokemon?" 

"Yes. The musharna is Starla, and this Metang is Ford. This was my team here. By far, they were the hardest to leave behind when I decided to go on my journey." Charles tried to pet all three pokemon at once. "They were really my only friends here. They were the ones who understood me." Brooke sat down in the grass next to him and pet the pokemon as well, introducing herself to them. "It's so nice you had other pokemon here, even if you weren't allowed to have Ophelia." 

"Well, if it isn't the drop out. Surprised you showed your face back here." They all looked over to see a small group of kids around their age watching them. Immediately, Charles' face fell. "Hello Wyatt." 

"What are you doing back here, wash-up? We all thought you were gone for good." The boy, apparently named Wyatt put his hands on his hips, a sly smile over his face. He was rather tan and had short blond hair and green eyes. "I'm only back for a visit, you don't need to worry." Charles replied shortly, looking back to his pokemon. "Worried? Who said I was worried? You're the one who couldn't handle the heat." 

"What I couldn't handle, Wyatt, was arrogant, pompous trainers like you." 

"Tsk. Yeah, right, Charles. We all know a flake like you couldn't make it with the rest of us, even if your mommy and daddy are rich enough to get you in here. Come on, guys." Wyatt and the boys left and Brooke and Logan looked at Charles. "Who were those guys?" 

"Wyatt Richmond, and his little squad. He's been a pain since we met. Although he's a fighting type trainer, we've had a lot of classes together. We were both top students, and always competing to be number one in our class, so he became a rival very quickly. What he lacks in general intelligence, he made up for in strength and training, and what I lacked in raw power, I made up for with cleverness and wit. He's part of the reason I hated it here. He was a constant thorn since my parents sent me here." 

"Why did you never do anything about him? If he's harassing you, surely Victor would have taken care of it." 

"His father is one of the biggest investors in the school, so he has a lot of pull, and just gets Wyatt out of trouble and wipe it away like it never happened. If I went to a staff member, it would only make things worse." 

"I'm so sorry, Charlie. I never knew you had such a rough time with the other students here." 

"It's ancient history. I'm never coming back to attend this school, so that's it." He stood back up. "Come on, I'll show you to my old dorm room." He smiled down at his old pokemon. "I'll come back and visit you again." He walked off down the path and Brooke and Logan followed him, after exchanging a worried look. 

Victor showed them to the dorm hall and up to the room that used to be Charlie's. It was a single near the top floor with a great view of the campus. "It's strange to be in here when it's empty." Charles said nostalgically, looking around. "Since you dropped out this year, no one has been living in here since you left. "So this is where you lived for your time here?" 

"Well, I changed rooms every time, but I've been in here a couple times since I was usually in a single. Not on the summers, and sometimes I'd study abroad and travel." 

"This is so cool, Charlie! Too bad this school wasn't right for you, cause this campus is beautiful." 

"I'm gonna run to the rest rooms quickly, when I come back we can head back to my house for the evening." Charles left the room and headed down to the rest room, but stopped when he saw Wyatt and his friends heading towards him. "Hey there Charles." 

"Hello again, Wyatt." 

"Say, that little pretty thing you're travelling with, I hear she's challenging Tamsa." 

"Her name is Brooklyn, and yes, she is." Charles replied, a light scowl on his face. "Poor thing, she's going to get her pretty little behind handed to her." 

"Believe me, Wyatt, she could beat you in a battle with her eyes closed." 

"Really? I'd love to see that. And I am one of the few students here who has beaten Tamsa. Afterall, my pokemon are all super effective against hers. It was easy. She shouldn't even waste her time." 

"She can beat Tamsa, she's a gifted trainer." Wyatt scoffed. "That's not much coming from you, drop-out. Maybe I could show her a better evening instead, so she doesn't waste her time with a shrimp like you." 

"She is a better trainer than any of us will ever be, and you will show her some respect." 

"Ooo, defensive, are we? What, do you have a little crush on her?" 

"That's beside the point. Brooklyn is my friend, and you won't speak about her like that." 

"Yeah, right, you having friends. That's a good one. If you're so up in arms about her, why don't you do something about it?" 

"Gladly. How about a battle? One on one. Since you're so over confident that you'll win." Charlie challenged, and Wyatt laughed. "A battle? Are you sure you want to do that, Charles? You know what happens when you and I go head to head. I always win." 

"Maybe you have in the past, but not this time. Your academy time versus mine on the old courts. Half an hour." 

"Sure thing. But I'm afraid you'll only humiliate yourself in front of your little girlfriend." Wyatt smirked and sauntered off. Charles walked back to the dorm room. "I'm sorry, you all, but there's one thing we have to do before we head back home." 

"What's up, Charlie?" Brooke looked up at him from his bed. "I'm going to have a battle with Wyatt." 

"What? You are?" 

"You were right, Brooklyn, now that I'm out of the academy, he can't hurt me anymore. Time to finally stand up to him. It's my psychic types against his fighting types." 

"All right! That's what I'm talking about!" Brooke smiled excitedly. "Let's not waste any time!" Logan rushed out of the room, and they all followed behind, excited to watch Charlie battle.

They arrived at the battlefields where Wyatt and his friends were waiting for them after picking up Charles' psychic type pokemon from the greenhouse. "So, you still decided to show up, then? Let's not waste any time putting you in your place." Wyatt tossed a pokeball in his hand. "Well, what are you waiting for, then?" Charles replied casually and held a pokeball in his hands. Watt nodded to one of his friends to referee for the battle. "This will be a one-on-one battle! It will be over when one side is out of able pokemon! Items and switching are not allowed. Choose your first pokemon and release them." Wyatt released a Scraggy and Charles released his girafarig, Gilly. "Battle, begin!" 

"Scraggy! Feint attack!" It was super effective. "Stomp, Gilly!" 

"High jump kick!" 

"Dodge it, Gilly!" Gilly jumped out of the way just in time, and Scraggy crashed down into the dirt and got hurt. "Now double kick while they're down!" Before Scraggy could get back up, Gilly kicked them them twice, sending them flying. "Crunch, Scraggy!" 

"Stomp before they can get to you!" Scraggy was starting to feel it, and Wyatt was obviously getting frustrated. "Come on, Scraggy! Feint attack again!"

"Double Kick, Gilly!" One of the kicks was a direct hit, and Scraggy fell at Wyatt's feet. He stared, utterly stunned. "Scraggy is no longer able to battle! Charles and his girafarig win!" 

Charles walked over to Gilly and pet his old partner while Wyatt returned his Scraggy. "I don't know how you did that, drop-out. You must have cheated." 

"Or, more likely, you've become over confident after not having any real challenges any more. My journey has made me stronger, and if you were really a skilled trainer instead of a powerful battler, you would have been able to see that in our battle." Charles replied, bluntly, and returned Gilly to his pokeball. He turned and walked over to his friends. "You ready to go, Charlie?" Brooke asked, a proud smile on her face. "Yes. Let's go back to my parents'. You have a tough gym challenge tomorrow." Charles smiled back and left the academy with Logan and Brooke following him.


End file.
